Generator: Switching Gears
by KaliAnn
Summary: AU and sequel to Generator and the Gears. Two months after defeating the Consortium Rex Hayashi is enjoying life as a senior in high school and hero to the world. Meanwhile four months after his victory over the HAEA, Rex Van Kliess is on top of the world with his family and success. What happens when these two Rex's switch places and have to lead the others life? Trouble!
1. Through the Looking Glass

_Hello everyone! I'm back with a sequel to The Generator and the Gears. I'm going to be connecting my two Generator Rex worlds isn't that cool? So if you haven't read my original GR stories I recommend you do. Sorry, I've been gone for over a month, I was busy revising my second original novel and ghostwriting some chapters for a friend. Now I'm back to write this story, but to be honest this is just something to keep me occupied for the time. I want to write my sequel to my crossover, "_Spiritual Justice Intervention," _but I have to wait and see some of Book Two Spirits starting in September. _

_ It's time to begin. Hope you'll stay with me to the end. Remember to support my original work; _"Battle for the Stars." _Also read and review._

* * *

It was a beautiful crisp and warm fall afternoon. The leaves were just starting to change color. A cool breeze ruffled through the air carrying the sounds of migrating birds.

The final bell rang at Benjamin Franklin High. The doors to the school were flung open as the kids poured out heading for home. Shouts of joy could be heard and several kids were already making weekend plans. Buses honked trying to hurry along the kids as cars hurried out of the parking lot.

A group of eight friends were heading walking towards the parking lot chatting happily. In the two months since the World Wide Cure, life had returned to normal for the most part. The only EVOs left in the world were the Gears and only when they wanted to be. Most of the time they were just normal teens attending senior year. The only time they activated their EVO powers were when they were on a mission.

"I can't believe we had another pop quiz today. How many is that in one week?" Noah complained. He had undergone a wardrobe change. Instead of his long green jacket he sported a simple vest and his shirt was now red and white with long sleeves. His hair was also slightly longer.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes and told him to stop whining. Claire had also undergone a makeover. Her coppery red hair cascaded down her back in waves ending just above the small of her back. She still wore her white jacket, but had swapped her blue shirt for a magenta printed shirt and black pants. "What did you expect Noah? Senior year is supposed to be the hardest year; it has to be in order to prepare us for the world of college. Trust me another pop quiz in chemistry isn't going to kill you unless you forget to study. What are the chances of that happening?"

"About the same as me losing my cursed clumsiness. At least I've managed to get a handle on it," Annie laughed. She had let her hair grow out reaching past the nape of her neck. She had on a yellow and white stripped sweatshirt with some capri pants. She was leaning next to her boyfriend Walter/Skywwd, who was wearing a gray hoodie and faded jeans. She tilted her head stealing a kiss from him who blushed a bit at her forwardness.

"Annie, we have an audience. Don't be so forward."

"We don't mind the show. It's great to see you so confident in you're in your relationship isn't it Tuck?" Cree/Cricket asked her boyfriend. Cricket still sported her purple locks, but had changed her outfit for a comfortable indigo skort and lavender top. She had on some punk style jewelry like dark wristbands and a skull medallion, tributes to her mother Five.

"Whatever you say Cree, but I wouldn't want to have our parents see us getting to friendly. We might lose a body part!" Tucker/Tuck pointed out. His color scheme was still the same, but his clothes now fit perfectly and looked expensive. He also stood up tall in pride no longer feeling less than nothing. The trio had come a long way since living on the streets of Hong Kong dealing with Quarry all the time.

The last couple of the group were holding hands smiling at the exchange of their friends. There looks hadn't changed except for both wearing a simple silver promise ring on their hands. The two of them had pledged to be together until they were old enough to marry. Since the success against the Consortium the two of them had been spending a lot more time together getting closer, but not to close!

"I'm sure that you'd only be slightly maimed if IV and Trey decided you two were taking advantage of Annie and Cree, but then again you could counter their attacks right?" Circe inquired. She giggled covering her mouth at the hardened looks the boys gave her. "Sorry, just was teasing. So the girls are heading for a well-deserved girl day to get a manicure and pedicure. What will you boys be doing?"

"Walter and I are going to the library to work on a research project for World History," Tuck said. "We have to write a comparative paper on the civil wars in central Europe to the recent ones going on in the Middle East."

"I can just feel my headache starting to form at the thought of reading all those books," Walter shuddered.

"I have to run some errands for my parents. They want to work me to the ground as long as they can before they lose their free labor. What about you Rex?"

"I promised Caesar I meet him afterschool for some brotherly bonding. He's really trying to make up for all his mistakes. I hope he hasn't forgotten about it. Sure he's brilliantly, but he gets distracted so easily. Especially when Beverly croons at him. She's got him whipped," the teen snickered as the others pictured Beverly tying Caesar up again. Saying their goodbyes they all headed their own ways.

About fifteen minutes later Rex arrived home just as Beverly came skipping out of the house. The sophomore in college hadn't changed her look beside braiding sections of her hair and wearing a bit more makeup. "Hi Rex, how was school today?"

"It was there. So what were you and my brother up to? Working on a new project of sorts?"

"Oh no we were making out," Beverly said with a straight face. She took pleasure from watching the teen's face go white and freeze in place. "Kidding! I asked Caesar to help me with one of my classes is all. He's a genius remember? Well, I have to go. I promised to cook dinner for the parents tonight. See you later."

Rex entered his home warily looking for his brother. It had been a difficult transition when Caesar had first moved into the attic. Six had threatened the man more than once to cut off his hands if he kept causing explosions to go off and nearly destroying the house in the process of his experiments. Wisely Caesar now confined most of his experimental work in his lab at Providence. Taking a hesitant step inside the kitchen the teen was surprised to see his brother with an apron around his waist as he got to work on baking? "Caesar? What are you doing?"

"Baby brother I didn't hear you come in! Put your backpack away. I thought we could make some churros for desert. I got most of the ingredients assembled, but I could use some help," Caesar replied holding his hands out in a helpless gesture. Judging by the mess on the table baking wasn't one of his strong suits.

Cautiously Rex approached him as he washed his hands. He looked over the assorted mess cringing at the mental shouting of his mom. She wouldn't be pleased with this mess. "Why don't I make the dough and you get the oven ready for the churros. Maybe even get started on the chocolate. It shouldn't take that long."

For the next forty five minutes the only sounds were the brother talking to another about watching their Mammy baking these treats and letting them taste test the batch. The familiarity of the activity warmed their hearts. Also the stove top that nearly burnt the chocolate.

At least the churros survived. When Six and Holiday arrived home after a long day of work they were happy to find dinner and dessert made. After a family group hug they all settle down to enjoy the meal. Afterwards they played on the Wii before Rex had to go work on his homework. It was the end to a perfect day. How could anything ruin this?

* * *

In a parallel version of the world another family was having a wonderful dinner. Eighteen year old Rex Van Kliess ran a hand through his white streak and chuckled at his eighteen month old daughter's antics as she mushed up her dinner. Circe was doing her best to avoid having food thrown at her.

"That's enough little icon. You need to eat your vegetables not toss them around. I know you like carrots, but you need to try the broccoli. It's good for you."

Eilonwy shook her head. "No! Bwrocili icky! No in tummy!" the little girl said. She pouted and kicked her legs trying to wiggle out of her high chair. "Want down Mommy!"

"Finish your dinner and I'll get you down," Circe told her patiently. She reached out to help her daughter with her meat, but the little girl batted her hands away. She wanted to do it herself! Both parents watched as she finished her bit of chicken. Clapping her hands she gave her parents a toothy grin. "Done Mommy. Stowry time?"

"Alright, I'll read to you in a little bit. First bath time."

"No bath! Stowry!"

"Yes bath. Daddy will give you a bubble bath. You don't mind Rex, I have a lot of paper work to review. Please?" Rex nodded picking up his messy daughter from her chair. She squirmed and kicked, magic sparks danced off her fingertips. She was trying to get out of bath time.

"That's enough little icon. The more you squirm, the more trouble you're in. Now stop what you're doing and let's get you cleaned up."

The little girl allowed her dad to put her in the bathtub. She splashed and blew bubbles as Rex washed her black hair lathering it up before she rinsed it out. He scrubbed her clean as she blew kisses at him. The little girl was less wiggly as he took her out of the bath. She insisted on putting on her pajamas all by herself.

Two hours later the little girl was asleep in her crib as her exhausted parents sat down on the couch in the suite. It was exhausting being teen parents to a magical possible future EVO. In the three months since they had taken down Cain and his HAEA group and created a living symbiosis with the nanites things were rapidly changing.

First off, Kaori Six and Quintessa Holiday had become officially married last month. The two of them would be returning from their honeymoon tomorrow after spending nearly two weeks in Japan. All of Providence wished them the best and hoped that they had a good time, but couldn't wait for their eventual return so life could resume.

Rex's parents, Kacancu and Wilhelmina along with his little brother Ron, were also doing well now that they no longer had to live on the space station. The family had settled into their own home in town. Ron was enjoying going to high school and the two scientists were busy at work continuously monitoring the Nanite Nexus making sure the exchange between the reverse world and the real one stayed stable. There was talk of them working with Naniqueen to further develop the sentience of the nanites so that they could act more independent from her.

Holiday's twin sister Ulani was still living in Abysus keeping a watchful eye on the growing number of EVOs in the county. Abysus was finally becoming a stable country that had established trade agreements with several other countries. A budding tourist industry was in the making being overseen by a happy President Van Kliess and his faithful wife Anya. Anya's own androids had received an upgrade and now had new fully looking human exteriors which made interaction with the general public much easier. After Cain's attempt to cleanse the world of EVOs only for it to be saved by them; EVOs weren't harassed or feared as much.

Mage and the citizens of Haven were doing well as they continued on their quest to bring magic back to the world. The members of the Council had recently invited several dignitaries to their domain to foster new relationships. It had gone well for the magic users. Other interesting changes was that Noah and Breach were officially dating taking their relationship to the next level. Noah's family had her over for dinner. His parents had loved her and his little sis thought she was funny.

"So much has happened in two short years. I found my family, got new powers and have married a wonderful woman with a beautiful daughter to match. EVOs and humans are getting along well and the world is safe. Who could ask for more?" Rex asked kissing his wife.

"I know, I'm so lucky to have you. This is a dream come true. How could anything be more perfect?" Circe replied snuggling up to him. The two hoped that their happiness would never end.

* * *

Back in the world of Rex Hayashi a new day had started. School was off for a teacher's conference and the kids were hanging out in the auxiliary base practicing their skills. The Backup Gears had gotten much stronger and now used weapons to supplement their skills for when they weren't in EVO mode.

Cree danced around swinging her pike as she did a partial flip taking out two of the training robots. Ducking under the swing of another she brought up the blunt top smacking in the chin breaking its jaw. She felt something coming up from behind her and lashed out with her foot then brought her arm down across its neck knocking it out.

Nearby Tucker and Walter were also practicing with their weapons. Tucker was using Chinese fire and wind wheels. The teen was very proficient as he slashed, parried, and deflected with his weapons keeping light on his feet. When he brought both circle weapons together he managed to slash downward leaving a deeper cut in his target. Walter was still getting use to his miniature crossbow. Trey decided with his lanky frame and lack of muscle it was a better weapon to take out his foes from a distance. He was still getting use to the recoil wincing every time he used it.

"Man this is getting to be a drag. Maybe I should try something else like a battle-ax or a stick."

"You can't really handle the weight. Besides you'll get better with practice bud. Don't give up, you'll get it eventually," his best friend encouraged him.

"Tch that's easy for you to say. You're a prodigy with yours. Only using them for a month and look how much damage you can do."

"Remember what our guardians said, the weapon is an extension of our own power. Belief in oneself is a vital as pure power," Cree quoted as she walked over to the other members of the trio. "It's going to take some time, but we'll get there. You shouldn't dismiss how much progress you've made in the last few months. Trey is really proud of you. I bet when he and the others get back from their rescue mission in Southeast Asia they'll be happy very pleased with our progress."

"Has Six heard anything from them? It's been almost three days since they last contacted us," Tucker asked anxiously. It was understandable, all three of them were anxious. After being abandoned by their original families and forced to work for Quarry they didn't want anything to happen to their new adoptive parents.

"I'm sure that they're fine. They're The Six remember? Nothing can touch them," Walter said trying to sound tough. Suddenly an alarm sounded breaking the trio out of their pity party. The rushed to the main room to find out what was going on.

The other Gears had assembled as well still in their civilian wear as they waited to hear what the mission was. Beverly's fingers were racing across the keyboard. The elevator dinged as the doors opened revealing the Hayashi's with Caesar. He had assisted Holiday with an experiment when the alarm sounded joining them as they came to see what the trouble was.

"Talk to us Beverly, what's caught your interest?" Holiday asked her sister.

"I'm getting reports from the D. C. area about recent break-ins that are being perpetrated by EVOs. Since Rex cured everyone and instructed the nanites to not turn anyone else I thought it was important. I'm bringing up the footage now. Take a look at monitor two."

On the monitor appeared a nighttime security footage of several people breaking into one of the eighteen museums that made it up. The footage showed four individuals taking out the guards with ease seeming to use supernatural abilities. The camera seem to glitch for a second and then the four transformed into half animal states. They proceeded to steal several valuable artifacts before leaving. It was disturbing.

"What's with the glitch in the footage? Are we even sure they're turning into EVOs or it's just a computer manipulated video?" Noah questioned.

"According to eye witness testimony and early forensics there are signs of EVO activity. They found tufts of hair that the DNA has come out part human part animal," Claire read from a report.

"Could someone have figured out a way to activate EVO transformations or switch from normal to EVO mode like you guys?" Annie asked. The scientists of the groups shrugged. It was a possibility, but Rex was confident that he had made sure no one else could do what he and his friends could.

"Is there a pattern to what's been stolen? If we can figure out what the thieves are after maybe we can anticipate their next move. Catch them in the middle of the act," Circe suggested.

Beverly cross referenced all the stolen items with a manifest list of exhibits in the Smithsonian and the archives. She compared origin, type, and value. Her sister was looking into the history of the objects while Six read the police reports of the previous thefts. After about fifteen minutes they had an answer.

"It would appear that all the items stolen are rumored to contain magical powers or are used in magical rituals. Several of the items stolen were found at sites rumored to be hot spots of supernatural energy," Holiday explained carefully.

"Magic_? Que eso es una locura. Que es tonto como para creer en esas absurdas supersticiones de la magia?_ Everyone knows that there's no such thing. Magic is just advance technology that no can explain yet," Caesar stated with absolute certainty.

"I don't know brother, I've seen and experienced things that are unexplainable by science. There are many mysterious still out there that no one can explain. Still, it doesn't matter if we believe in magic or not. The point is the thieves do and if they're stealing these items for some kind of ritual it's not a good thing. We need to put a stop to them and find out if they are switching from human to EVO."

"Rex is right, if the thieves are really EVOs then they fall under the jurisdiction of Hope and Providence. I'll see if White Knight can send a small team to assist us in the investigation. I'll talk to my old contacts see if they heard anything from the underground. Rebecca and Caesar, you should head to the FBI labs to see if you can assist in analyzing of the evidence. The rest of you contact your folks. We're leaving in an hour for D.C."

"Good think it's the weekend. I have a feeling this is going to be a long one," Rex commented. The others nodded already contacting their folks and prepping their gear for the mission. It looked like they Gears were back in action and heading for another adventure in the nation's capital.

Upon arriving in D.C. the group split up. The kids spread out to search the museums that had been hit as well as explore the others to try to figure out the thieves' next target. Six was busy talking with his contacts while the team of Hope and Providences agents got up to speed with what was happening in the investigation. Holiday and Caesar got permission to assist with the lab techs hoping they could make sense of the forensics.

In the lab Holiday was reviewing the information on the hair samples while Caesar looked over the DNA profiles trying to make sense of what they were seeing. What he was seeing wasn't making any sense.

"I can see why you asked us to help you out. The DNA samples appear to be in a state of flux, but what's really puzzling is the code itself. The samples seem to contain DNA from both human and animal species, some not even mammal. Are you sure these samples aren't contaminated?" Caesar asked a tech.

"We triple checked the evidence log along with sending our own techs to obtain the evidence. We have both visual and written confirmation that these samples were taken from the crime scenes. There has been no contamination."

"There does appear to be some residual nanite activity in some of the samples you brought back," Holiday remarked. She was reviewing the data on the nanite scans from the crime scene and comparing them to her research. "From what I can tell something has activated these nanites, but it's not the usual factors that would cause EVO mutations. Your testing indicates traces of a foreign energy source on the nanites. Have you been able to determine what that source is?" The techs shook their head as their database had left them clueless.

Holiday ran a hand through her hair and rubbed her forehead to deal with the headache approaching. "I'm also clueless about what the energy is. All I can say is the key to this mystery is determining what that source is and how it's causing these mutations."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not magic. I hope the others are having more luck."

The agents weren't having much luck. Both the local authorities and FBI hadn't found any suspects yet and none of Six's contacts had any information about who could be behind these crimes. A search by the Gears had turned up nothing useful, but they had a list of potential targets to keep an eye on. The authorities were already posting extra security details on possible targets, but it was impossible to watch all of them. The agents agreed to help with the slack while the Gears had their own targets to watch out for on stake out. They divided into teams to keep an eye on several targets.

Cricket, Tuck and Skywwd keep an eye on several paintings rumored to have magical properties. App, Chaos and Spyder were in another building containing literature on the subject. Generator, Siren, and Wingman were patrolling museums with artifacts to be used for magic. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Back in the parallel world the sun had risen only a few hours ago. Today was a special day as Circe had gotten time off from her job at the UN to help with her daughter's magic training. Her daughter's habit of shocking people with her magic sparks.

As Circe changed her daughter's diaper and put her in a clean white and silver dress, she thought about what to teach her daughter. She had asked the members of Haven's Council what was the best lesson for a little baby to learn. According to Rory, most magical children didn't start their formal training until four or five. Still, she could do simple exercises to help her daughter keep her power in control.

"Alright my little icon, today is a special day yes it is. You are going to enjoy today's lesson yes you are. We're going to have fun today. We're going to practice controlling your sparks."

"Magic sparks! Leswen fwun!" Eilonwy giggled letting loose another shower of sparks. Her sparks fell on a lamp causing it to fizzle and then the light bulb burst. Circe sighed, putting her daughter in the playpen before cleaning up the damage.

Rex entered the living room taking note of the damage. "Maybe I should call in sick today. You might need my help with your lesson today." His wife smiled pleased to hear that. She hoped he would be involved with their daughter's lessons. Because he was only a Guardian due to his small spark he couldn't properly teach her, but he could keep the damage to a minimum.

The small family decided to go to the newly finished greenhouse to practice. The greenhouse studied the purification process from the Nexus/real world exchange on crops to see if they could improve it. The process could eventually lead to the end of world hunger. For now it was a safe environment to learn control.

Setting the toddler on a soft blanket Circe picked up a potted plant to show her daughter. "Alright little icon time to practice. You ready?" Eilonwy's head bobbed eager to please her mommy. "Alright, first I want you to try to gather your sparks in your hands. Can you do that for mommy?"

The little girl gathered her sparks, the silver energy dancing around her hands. The energy was getting bigger and bigger threatening to spill over. "Alright, not too much little one. I just want a small amount please. Can you do that?" The child did as she was told losing some of the sparks. "Alright now I need you to aim your sparks into the pot. Try not to hit the flower, just the dirt."

Both parents watched in pride as the little one aimed her chubby hands at the pot. Most of the sparks landed in the pot. The few stray sparks that didn't hit the pot Rex used his earth based powers to smoother them. "You did good little icon. You got most of your sparks in the pot."

"Yipee! Me do good!" Rex affectionately patted her on the head as they continued to practice the control exercise. Eilonwy was easily getting a hang on making her sparks and then aiming them into the pot. Soon she filled the first part and the magical energy cause the plant to fully bloom growing to an impressive height.

"You're doing so well Eilonwy yes you are! Mommy is very pleased!"

"_Sí, tiene una niña especial. Papá está muy orgulloso de usted," _Rex said. His daughter scrunched up her face as she tried to piece together what he said to her. She didn't have a strong grasp on Spanish yet, but she was getting there. When she finally figure out what he said she let loose more sparks in joy. As the small family contained the sparks they didn't notice a few had landed on the glass wall behind them causing it to ripple and shimmer.

* * *

In the other world night had fallen and the stake out had begun. The Gears reported in with no signs of activity yet. All was quiet on the police scanners as well. The Providence and Hope agents hadn't seen anything yet.

Generator, Siren, and Wingman were perched on the walkways above a display rooms. So far nothing had happened and they were taking turns discussing the artifacts below wondering if they were really magical at all.

"I'm just finding it hard to believe in magic is all. You're seriously going to tell me that some amulet down there can grant someone good luck forever?" Wingman asked as he scanned the artifacts below. The artifacts in the room ranged from jewelry to antique mirrors, keys, cards, and puppets supposedly granting magical power.

"It doesn't matter if we believe the artifacts have magical power, it's what the thieves believe. Therefore it's our responsibility to ensure they fail at taking any more trinkets for their collection," Siren replied simply. She wouldn't admit it to the boys, but she believed in magic with all her heart. Growing up in Boston before being disowned, she had seen and heard things that were unexplainable except by magic. She was actually looking forward to seeing if the thieves used magic.

There was a noise and the trio activate their stealth mode as the gate to the room exploded in a blur of yellow light. The alarm started to go off only for it to be silenced by the same yellow light. The four individuals entered the room and for the first time the Gears saw who they were dealing with.

The leader of the group was a broad shoulder muscular fit slightly tan man with spiky red hair and dark brown eyes. Standing next to him a pale skin, petite, slender and slightly busty female, with long wavy blond hair and green anaridia eyes. They appeared to be a couple as did the other two. The other female was a dark skinned with short blue hair and eyes with cat like slits in them. Her curvy lithe body was almost cat-like as well. Her companion taller than her and had some muscle, but was also lean with short dark brown hair that fell slightly in front of his brown eyes. He appeared almost bored.

All the thieves were dressed in royal purple outfits with gold trim. The girls' outfits had low cut top that showed off the top of their cleavage with short battle skirts and they wore slipper shoes. The leader had his chest covered in with reinforced armor top and pants while the other only wore a vest and short capri like pants. They all wore necklaces with animal totems and a strange mark on different parts of their bodies. The mark, resembling a boar, cat, swan, and snake inside a sun symbol appeared on the leader's right forearm in red, in the keyhole exposed small of the blond's back in blue, in yellow on the other woman's left leg and green on the last guy's exposed chest. They all appeared to be in their mid-twenties ready to fight.

"Stay sharp everyone, these are the guys were after. Be ready to act in an instant," Generator whispered through their line. The others nodded getting ready to glide or swing down to get their prey.

The group strolled through the room brazenly unafraid of being caught. The leader directed his group with hand signals. A quick gesture from him and the blue haired girl was gone. She raced through the security at inhuman speed using what appeared to be enchanted dance moves to take out the security, the cameras, and alarms in a matter of seconds coming to rest between a display of two mirrors.

"Excellent work Faline. Now, to get what we came for. Brede, Odette, start transporting our loot to the portal. Faline be ready to take out the guards. I'm going to get the mirrors," the leader said.

"As you wish Edan," Odette said, her feather like barrettes tickling his chin. As the group turned to carry out their mission Siren glided down from the ceiling tackling Faline to the floor. Both Odette and Brede got kicked in the face as Wingman swung down sending them skidding. Edan barely managed to dodge a shot from Generator's Slam Cannon as he used his Sky Slider to fly through the air.

"Sorry to bust up your job, but we can't allow you thieves to continue your crime spree!" Generator informed him as he landed. He formed his BFS keeping a careful eye on his foes as his friends pulled out their weapons and Siren activated her EVO power. "Come quietly and I'm sure the law will be lenient."

Instead the four of them chuckled wiping away the blood off their chins. Their totems were glowing as they sized up the foes. "You have no idea who you're dealing with? You Gears may have saved the world from the Consortium, but let me assure you the members of the Ethereal Animal guild are not to be trifled with," Edan warned them.

"Ethereal Animal guild? Never heard of you. What is that you do? Why are you stealing historical artifacts? What's your endgame?" Wingman demanded.

"Why we're stealing the artifacts is none of your concern right now or what our mast plan is. As for what we can do, well why don't we show you our magical power? Let's see if the guardian protected mages can defeat a ragtag team of teens playing hero? Go!"

Siren fired her sonic mouth at the young women only for them to dodge gracefully out of the way. She snapped her rope dart wrapping it around Faline's leg only for the woman to magically spin her foot free. Purring Faline jumped over Siren's head landing on top of display of armor. She kicked the armor sending hurtling at Siren who used her rope dart to block it.

She was hit from behind by as Odette took her by surprise. The blond gave a childlike giggle as an aura of white surrounded her. "Soul Takeover Demonic Form!" There was a plume of white smoke and when it cleared Odette now appeared to be a large female demon complete with claws, talons, and wings.

Siren had no time to react as the giant as the enraged monster took a claw swipe at her. The front part of her power suit was shredded and her rips hurt as she took a hard tumble. She shot out a line trying to restrain the beast only for it to snap the line in half with a show of strength. As the female demon flew towards her intent on using her talons to squeeze her to death, Siren took to the air with a burst of speed from her rocket boots. Her cowl was giving her readouts as she scanned the transformed human. She was alarmed when it told her that the nanite activity was zero.

"No fair flying!" Faline purred. The other thief was using her enchanted speed to scurry up the wall before pouncing on her prey. The two women wrestled on the floor as Siren pushed her off with a foot. She fired another sonic blast which the woman endured. "Seems I need to take it up a notch. Guardian Basset, your champion calls for your power!" Faline prayed clutching her totem. It glowed bright blue and second later she was half human half cat! Odette used the same prayer only to Brahma becoming part human part swan!

Wingman was also running out of options. Both his long-range rifle and knife had turned to stone with a simple gaze from Brede. Right now he was trying to use his biomuscle enhanced speed and strength to take out Brede, but the man slithered and slinked out of the way landing disabling strikes to his elbow and knee joints leaving him withering in pain. Grunting Wingman managed to reach out into his survival back grapping a flair gun squeezing the trigger.

The blast blinded Brede for a second giving Wingman a chance to call for backup. The others would arrive soon, but it would take some time for them to get here. In the meantime he had to deal with the problem.

"Don't believe I'm not a threat because you took away my stonegaze for a time. I can still fight with a serpent's strength!" His totem glowed as his protector Horned Serpent granted him his powers. Smashing a display case Wingman snatched a magic staff to hold back the venomous teeth of his foe.

While this had been going on Generator and Edan had been battling in the middle of the displays. Both were trying their best not to damage the artifacts too badly. Generator had created his Smack Hands shoving most of the displays out of the path of war as Edan used crash magic to create barriers of fallen mason to protect the items.

"You fight well little warrior, but are relaying too much of the vile toxic technology. For far too long the world had become lazy and compliant with the grip of tech. The ancient ways are dying something I refuse to let happen!" Edan shouted focusing a blast of crash energy sending Generator through two columns landing in front of a window. The teen formed his Fun Chucks bashing his foe back and giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Is that what you hoped to accomplish by stealing? Reverting the populace of the world to a time where it was kill or be killed?" he demanded forming his Block Party to shield himself from more attacks.

"I intend to bring magic back to its height of power. I have studied the ancient texts that speak of a place of untold manna, but unfortunately it is gone in this particular version of reality. I intend to use the Mirrors of the Fairy Queen and King to reach this realm and take what I need for my guild mates," Edan snarled as he tried to reach Generator. A stomp of his feet and smacking of his hands produced enough energy to send the teen flying until he smacked into the Mirror of Titania. It surfaced rippled and shimmered upon contact for a split second showing another world.

Generator pushed himself to his feet forming his Bullwhip. "I won't let you hurt anyone else or steal something that could hurt people. You want these mirrors come and get them."

"Gladly! Arduinna, your champion calls for your power. Grant it to me so I may revive your followers and magic to the world!" The man was covered in flames as he become a boar on legs. With a roar he charged forward driving his tusks through the whip ignoring the electricity.

Switching to his Bad Axes Generator sliced and slashed drawing blood from his foe. He spun around doing two high kicks and cutting a gargoyle free. Edan obliterated the stone beast razing his hoofed hands across the hero's belly cutting into his skin. Ignoring the pain Generator tried to head-butt only for his head to be caught and nearly squished to death if his suit electrofield hadn't sprang into action.

* * *

Neither foe noticed the mirror was starting to emanate light as the reflection changed or that backup was coming. Odette shouted a warning to her leader that they should retreat just as he unleashed a powerful magical blast which Generator intercepted with his Block Party. The explosive energy sent everyone in the room flying scattering them across the floor. No one noticed Generator being sucked through the mirror or that something came sprawling out a few seconds later.

* * *

The surge of magical energy blew the power in the museum and the street lights outside. The power suits digital sensors were overload fizzing out as the suits diagnostic and repair systems went to work. Agents were picking themselves up off the ground as the Ethereal Animal Guild members took stock of the situation. The magical discharge had reverted them back to their full human form drained of most of their magic.

"We have to get out of here while the getting is good," Faline hissed helping Brede to his feet.

"We're not leaving those mirrors behind! I didn't come all this way to leave the key to our success in some dumpy museum display!" Edan snarled angrily. He was panting in exhaustion as he took a step towards the mirrors only for Odette to forcefully grab his hand pulling him towards her. He raised his hand to smack her but she stood her ground daring him to.

"We don't have time for this. Our magical center is practically depleted! We'll get the mirrors later I promise, but for the sake of the Guild we need to escape!" she argued with him. A subtle nod from his guild mates made the choice for him. They linked hands chanting a mantra as the agents rushed over to arrest them. A large yellow symbol appeared under their feet as a wall of wind pushed the agents back. In front of their eyes the group teleported away leaving them all flabbergasted.

"¡_Oh, Dios mío ¿qué ha ocurrido? ¿Qué tipo de EVO hace que esta potencia mucho daño," _Caesar exclaimed as he looked over the crime scene. He had seen the last part of the fight with his own eyes, but refused to believe that there wasn't a scientific reason behind all this.

"I don't think they were EVOs Caesar. I scan them with my sensors and fought hand to hand with them. They weren't using nanites at all. I'm inclined to believe they did have magical powers," Siren informed him as she unsteadily got to her feet. App was already checking her over for injuries as the other members of the Gears went about checking the displays and assessing the damage.

"_No, me niego a creer eso. No hay tal cosa como magia!"_

"If you two would stop arguing with each other you might want to get over here. Something's up with the kid," Bobo hollered. Worried, Caesar, the Hayashis' and Siren made their way to where Bobo was hovering over a sprawled out unconscious Rex. The emergency generator lights kicked on as they got their first glimpse at the teen hero.

At least they thought it was Rex, but he looked different. He seemed a bit older and had a white streak in his hair. Instead of wearing his power suit he had on his usual black pants and shoes, but was now wearing a brown and gold t-shirt under a green leather jacket. There were silver studs in his ear and on his left ring finger was a gold band.

"What happened to him? Why is he dressed like that?" Siren asked.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask him. Rex, time to wake up. Come on son time to rise and shine," Six said gently shaking him.

"Five more minutes Six, I had a long night," Rex moaned. Six eyebrows arched at being addressed by his name as Holiday's forehead furrowed in concern.

"Rex, sweetie please open your eyes," she begged. Rex responded by opening his eyes trying to adjust to their harsh fluorescent lights. He sat up rubbing his head as it pounded away. His parents held him steady asking him what was wrong.

Siren and Caesar moved in closer to give him a reassuring touch only for him to react poorly. Frightened by what he perceived as a threat his eyes glowed as he formed a fist then thrusting it away from his body. In synch with him soil burst from the ground trapping the two of them in a mound of dirt.

"Wow since when can the kid do that?" Bobo demanded. The Hayashi's turned to their son, who was backing up against a column in fear. "Kid, what are you doing?"

"What is going on? Where am I? Holiday, Six, where are Circe and Eilonwy? How did I get from Providence to hear? Was there an EVO crises that knocked me out? Who are the guys in blue, are they new agents? What's with the teens in bodysuits and why are you looking at me like that?"

"What are you talking about Rex? Did you hit your head? Maybe that energy blast has scrambled your neural pathways leaving you confused," Holiday said.

"Perhaps, that could be a possibility. You want to let me out of this dirt mound brother? I like to run some tests," Caesar said only to find the BFS pointed at his chin. "_Hermano, Rex no se me reconoce? Su César tu gran hermano!_"

"I don't have an older brother. My brother is named Ron and he's younger then me. He lives in town with our parents. I don't know who you are. Holiday, Six, talk to me. Tell me what's going on now with this guy. Is he an enemy of Providence? Where's Circe and Eilonwy?"

Having enough of this Siren used her mouth to break free. Removing her cowl she approached Rex cautiously. "I'm right here Rex. You seem confused to me. Why are you calling your parents by their names? Who's Eilonwy? Why do you think you work for Providence? How are you controlling earth?"

By now the other Gears had come over removing their cowls or reverting to human form. They all were concerned for Rex whose jaw hung open in complete disbelief.

"How could you forgot our own daughter Circe?" he whispered. After looking around the group once more before crumbling to the ground in exhaustion and fear. "This isn't right, this isn't right. How could my life be falling apart like this?"

Caesar, who had dusted himself off, was running a scanner over his baby brother's body when it started to beep. Taking a look at the readout his face ashened in fear and alarm. He stopped breathing for a minute as Beverly helped him start up again. "_Esto es malo, muy malo. _I think I know what's going on, but we need to get back to Hope to confirm my hypothesis. If I'm right then we have a bigger problem on our hand then super powered thieves."

* * *

Meanwhile another Rex was slowly coming to inside a large scanner. He panicked inside the enclosed space yelling and screaming as he used his Smack Hands to destroy the scanner following to the ground in fear.

"Rex, calm down please! You need to let us help you," a voice said as an unfamiliar set of hands lifted him up. He looked into the face of an android yelping as he crashed into the wall. He was frantic as he realized he was out of his power suit, in Providence, and didn't see a familiar face.

The doors opened as his parents and Circe, who was carrying a toddler rushed in. "Mom, Dad, Circe! What is going on? Why are we in Providence? What happened in D.C.? Where's my power suit?"

"Rex, you need to calm down. I contact your parents and they're on their way here. You were in accident in the greenhouse and Circe brought you here," Holiday tried to assure him.

"There haven't been any missions to D.C, at least not recently. As for your power suit we had to remove that strange outfit to exam you. I'm certain that Anya is having the time of her life figuring out how it works with the other androids"

"Anya? Androids, Dad please stop fooling around. I'm scared."

Circe looked at him with worry. "Rex, Six is your trainer not your father. I'm worried for you. There was a magical surge in the greenhouse and I found you next to a rippled greenhouse glass. I don't know what is going on."

The little girl in her arms squirmed and looked at Rex with teary eyes. "Not Daddy. New Rex, mirow spell bwring him here." The adults looked at her in shock and disbelief as Rex sank into a chair.

"Oh boy, what have we gotten ourselves into this time?" Circe muttered as she put the pieces together. One thing was certain, her perfect world just came crashing down around her.


	2. Split Image

The world around Rex Van Kliess had fallen apart around him. Everything he knew was no more. Sure, he had met and interacted before with people from other realities, but he had never gone to another reality much less been sent to a parallel version of his world. The question that was haunting him was how he was going to get back to his version of the world.

He currently found himself sitting in a hotel room with Noah and Circe. Since they were the people he was most familiar with it was hope they would keep him calm. The other Gears were in their own rooms reviewing evidence of the case and trying to find out anything on the mysterious guild who was committing these crimes. So far they hadn't found anything.

Rex rocked back and forth on the bed staring at the wall. He hadn't said much to "his" friends. He listened with a blank expression as Noah and Circe took turns telling him about the world he was in. When they finished the two friends looked at each other helplessly wondering if anything they said had gotten through to him.

"So," Rex said barely above a whisper. "My counterpart in this world was adopted by Kaori and Quintessa. That must have been interesting childhood; traveling the world and setting up their own base of Hope."

"Actually their first names are Shiro and Rebecca. Strange its not the same," Noah wondered. Circe shrugged not sure. "Okay, I guess doesn't matter. I'm sure a lot of names are different for one reason or another. So anything else that you have questions about?"

"The situation is just a bit overwhelming. I'm used to working with Providence as its top agent. It's my responsibility to monitor EVOs to ensure peaceful relationships between humans and them. The closest thing my world had to a worldwide cure was when I prevented the failsafe in the nanite network from killing every living thing on the planet. There's no Consortium just people like Hunter Cain and his hate group HAEA that I helped take out."

"I'm sure there are a lot of differences, but some similarities as well if you give us a chance. I don't know how you switched places with our Rex, but I do know that Hope and the Gears will work towards getting you home safe and sound," Circe assured him.

He gave her a smile reaching out to touch her before pulling back. The look of longing and regret was on his face. Sensing he needed some time to himself the two teens excused themselves as Rex laid down to take a nap. Tears streaked his face as he curled up in the fetal positing sadden by his circumstances. The two friends closed the door not wanting to add to his misery.

They walked a few doors down to the room where some of the other Gears were staying. Entering they discovered the rest of the originals sitting at the tables going over the evidence from the crimes and reviewing the data gathered by their power suits. The Backups were nowhere in sight.

Annie looked up, nearly falling off her chair as she tried to turn around. "We didn't hear you come in. So how's Rex doing? I mean the other Rex because he's not our Rex right? Or is he and he's just suffering under a delusional state of mind. Maybe those thieves did something to mess with his…"

"Stop babbling Annie before you tie up your tongue," Claire snapped sharply at her friend. Annie visibly shrank down in her seat as her best friend expression softened. "I'm sorry I guess we're all on edge. How is this other Rex?"

Her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders taking a deep breath as he sat down next to her. He looked like he was struggling to figure out how to explain the situation. "Physically he seems fine, but mentally and emotionally is another story. He was very unresponsive to us hardly saying a word. We couldn't get anything out of him. He said a few things that didn't make sense to us, but we decided not to push him for now."

The others nodded in agreement. It was a good idea to give this Rex some space before asking anything further of him. Letting him open up to them in his own time might take a while, but hopefully it would help them in the long run.

Silence filled the room for several moments before Circe broke it. "So where are the Backups? Did they go back to the crime scene or are they helping the agents out? Where are Six, Holiday, and Caesar? Shouldn't they be here trying to figure out more about our guest?"

Beverly, who had been clacking away on her laptop, paused for a moment. She had been busy going over the data from the power suits trying merge it with the museums security footage. Using enhancing software she was trying to get more information on the four guild members. "I sent Cree, Tucker, and Walter back to previous crime scenes with some agents to see if there anything we might have overlooked. After reviewing the recordings and comparing the date from the evidence previously gathered, I'm strongly inclined to believe your assurance that the Ethereal Animals are really mages. I'm just trying to get the proof I need to convince Caesar of that."

Annie let out a snort knowing that the elder Salazar mind was all but impossible to change once he made his mind up. Even after witnessing the events first hand and having a living person as proof he refuse to admit magic was real. Sure she was still a bit skeptical, but couldn't deny that what she felt when she entered the room was something unnatural. She turned back to guide book she had picked up from the museum lobby as well the tome she borrowed from the archives.

She was investigating the items that the guild had been after. Particular the set of mirrors that Edan had been willing to kill for. She painstakingly reviewed the small paragraph from the brochure with the two page texts in the tome on magical artifacts. Some of it conflicted with one another, but she finally was able to piece together what the mirrors were supposed to be for and why Edan had wanted them. "I think I figured out the motive for attempting to steal the mirrors and how it might related to our new Rex."

The others circled her as she read from her notes. "The mirrors are known as the Mirrors of the Fairy Queen and King, Oberon and Titania. Said to be a wedding present from Oberon's mother Danu, an ancient Celtic Goddess, the mirrors could be used as portals to other places one could see or travel to. According to legend the mirrors can be used to amplify spells ten times their natural strength. Perhaps, the most important property of the mirror is the ability to summon a mythical being through, who once bound, must obey the summoner's wishes. A truly powerful artifact."

"It would explain why Edan seemed determine to get them. An amplifier/portal would be most helpful in his quest to bring back magic if all that yelling was true," Circe commented.

"You think the clash of energy activated one of the mirrors and that's what caused the switch?" Noah asked.

"It's a possibility we'll have to look into. For now its best we study up on our enemy for signs of weakness. Hopefully the Backups can find something to track them with. Those guild members aren't going to give up that easy," Claire pointed out.

The kids nodded getting back to work. If they were going to get their Rex back they had to learn all they could about their new enemy. In the meantime they hoped the Hayashi family would be able to assist "Rex" in adjusting to his circumstances.

* * *

At the moment, Caesar was in his mobile lab with Holiday and Six sitting uncomfortably on his cold metal bench waiting for him to give them an explanation about what is going on. Holiday refused to leave D.C. in the off-chance being here would bring back her son, so the elder Salazar had to make do with his mobile lab. Six was getting impatient tapping his feet on the ground. Next to him his wife was biting her nails, a habit she broke years ago.

"No, no this isn't possible. How can this be real? I mean I wrote theories and used the principle, but to have something like this come back to haunt me, no."

"Caesar!" Six shouted startling the man. He removed his sunglasses and held on tight to his pseudo son's shoulders forcing him to look at him. "What is it? I promise no matter what you have learned we won't get mad. We just need to know what is that you discovered about this new Rex."

"His quantum signature is slightly out of alignment. It's almost exact, but it's also slightly out of phase with us. He also was covered in vertaron and chronoton particles along with emitting that strange energy."

"Vertaron particles? Quantum signature and energy emission. Rebecca, what is he talking about?"

"In theory there is an entire multiverse of different realities. Within those realities are parallel time lines known as cross time built off of one main time line. Quantum signatures identifies reality, vertaron particles are ones that build up when one cross through space/subspace and chronoton mean time. What Caesar is saying is this Rex crossed through his timeline version into ours through unknown means. The energy he's was given off was on both the mirror and Rex himself. If had to guess what it is, based on the evidence, its manna or life energy rumored to power magic. Don't give me that look you two. Its wild, but it's the only theory that makes sense."

"We'll have to confirm with the others and talk to him, but right now it's the best lead we got. We need to have this new Rex open up to us and tell us more about what happened to him prior to his arrival. It's the only way we get our Rex back."

* * *

Rex Hayashi was in a similar state of shock. After being released from the lab Circe had taken him to her suite to give him a chance to get use to the world. This world's version of his family were on their way to see him, hoping to help him with any questions he had and hopefully find out what happened to _their_ Rex.

Circe reentered the living room after putting Eilonwy down for a nap. She was hesitant in her steps as she passed the boy. She went to the kitchen, got two cold Cokes and made her way to the couch. "Here, do you like Coke?"

"Yeah, thanks," he said taking the drink from her. He sipped it for a bit before putting it down. He kept tapping his feet anxiously. He looked around the room searching for familiarity. His eyes settled on a photo above the flat screen. He got up and unhooked it from the wall. It was large group photo with several familiar faces and many he didn't know. What made it most interesting was that he and Circe were dressed in formal wear, holding hands and kissing.

"When was this taken? Why are you dressed up like that?"

"That was taken on our wedding day some time ago. We had a Wiccan ceremony. It was the happiest day of my life because only three weeks prior I thought I had lost my Rex after he gave his life to prevent the failsafe in the Nanite Nexus. Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

Rex shook his head putting the photo back on the wall. "I'm a high school senior who has complete control over his nanites literally being able to turn them off or on command. I love Circe, but I'm not ready to marry yet, I want to go to college."

"If I could take time off from being the ambassador for Abysus at the UN and fighting for EVO rights, I would go to college. It's a full time job on top of being a mother and a High Priestess in training."

"So, you really do have magic don't you?" She nodded opening her palm up. Silver stars appeared in her hand as she flicked the around him. He laughed as the stars circled him tickling his skin before vanishing. "Cool, Circe just had her mouth, but she's an expert at the Praying Mantis Style and her rope dart."

"Nice to know my counterpart is still a tough chick," She smiled then touched her ear as if hearing something. Nodding she informed him that the Van Kliess's had arrived and were making their ways to the suite. "I think we'll be able to answer any of your questions then."

The Van Kliess's entered the room and instantly Rex was engulfed in a hug. He struggled out panting wary of them. They didn't look anything like his picture of his biological family. The father was Hispanic, but his skin was much lighter and his hair almost brown instead of black. His face was oval shape and he's wasn't that much taller then Rex. The woman was tall, lithe woman with medium length auburn hair and the same brown eyes as him with creamy skin. The boy appeared to be around or a year younger than him who resembled the father with a just a tinge of red in it.

"Oh Rex, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you. I apologize. Are you feeling okay?" Wilhelmina aka Willa asked reaching out for him again only for Rex to recoil.

"Son, please calm down. We just want to talk," Kacancu told him. His young son grabbed his parents pulling them away.

"Chill out will you. This isn't our Rex and I think we're going to put him a coma if we keep acting like he is. We're not who you were expecting I take it?" Rex shook his head pulling out his wallet. He pulled out two photos handing them to the group. One was of his biological family and the other was of his adoptive family. Clearly there were differences.

"I don't get it. How can we be related, but don't look like these people?" Ron questioned.

"Tawret, my mentor, once said that the events of destiny always unfold, but the people are molded to fit whatever role is needed. That could explain how things could be the same is some ways, but different in others."

The Van Kliess's nodded and Rex seemed to accept that answer. After taking his photos back he sat down on the couch. He gestured for the others to take seats. Willa sat on his right and Circe his left placing a hand on his. He took it feeling a bit of comfort.

"I'm sorry if I reacted poorly. It's just this is hard for me. I'm having trouble dealing with a biological family that isn't mine and world were EVOs still exist. What other surprises are there?"

"You might want to put on your listening ears. This is going to take a while," Willa said. For the next hour and half the group exchanged stories about their lives. Rex was fascinated learning about Uncle Shaka, Haven, and Naniqueen. He was amazed by how many other reality visitors his counterpart had met and all the great things he had accomplished.

Circe listened patiently answering questions he had. At one point she had to get up to tend to the Eilonwy, but made it back in time to hear the rest of the story. It was amazing to hear about how this Rex was both a hero and normal teen, had convince the Numbers to take in kids, and how he beat the Consortium. She was happy that he had found parent who loved him so much.

Eilonwy squirmed and wormed her way over to Rex, who after a pause sat her in his lap. She frowned sensing his unhappiness so she made sparks hoping to cheer him up. He laughed tickling her and she giggled. It was a nice sight, but it did make the switch a bit more obvious with how forced it was.

"So now that you know my story and about what was going on before the switch can you help me get home?" Rex asked.

"Haven is out of communication range for now, but I'll have some of the Council Members look into information about the mirrors. In the meantime Anya can look into a scientific method on getting you home. Don't worry it will be okay."

* * *

Back in Hayashi's world the small guild were in their hideout going over what had gone wrong on their mission last night. For the time being they were staying a loft just outside the capital.

The loft was decorated with fresh smelling flowers and lots of sunlight with their guild crest hanging on the wall. A bar near the kitchen island was fully stocked and there were plenty of tasty treats to munch on in the freezer. Strategically placed around the room were several protective seals to keep out intruders who would stop them.

Faline emerged from the basement carrying a first aid kit with both modern and homeopathic remedies. Kneeling next to Brede she faithfully started tending to his wounds. His foe, while weaponless, still managed to land some critical hits on her boyfriend. There was a lot of nasty bruising all over his body, and some missing skin patches from when he was forcefully reverted to full human form.

"This might sting a bit," she said using some alcohol to clean the wound out. The man hissed in pain, but she carried on using crushed comfrey and marigold to form a paste to cover the open wounds. Wrapping a bandage around it she started on the bruises checking how bad they were and giving him some poppy seeds for the pain. "This looks nasty."

"Believe me, the only thing that hurts more than this is my pride. How could non-spell cause so much pain is beyond me," the man said. He brushed off her attempts heading for the bar. He took out some red wine and started drinking straight from the bottle much to her disapproval. She tried to snatch the bottle away, but he kept it just out of reach. "Let me drink catgirl! I need it."

"Drinking in your condition is a bad idea all around! You need rest not wine!"

"Will you two quit it already? We have more important things to be concerned about them internal squabbling," Odette snapped. She had entered the living area unnoticed. She snatched the wine bottle out of Brede's hand shoving it back into the cooler. With a huff she grabbed both members by the ears dragging them through the loft until they were in the designated office area. Edan was sitting at desk scrolling through hacked video files from last night as well as his documents on objects.

"What's the matter beloved? I know that we lost our chance for the Fairy King and Queen's mirrors, but we'll get another chance. We just have to be better prepared is all."

Edan spun around snorting in anger, his totem glowing as he struggled to keep his temper. "We needed those mirrors for our plan to succeed. Without them our attempts to bring magic back to this world is in serious jeopardy! It was child's play staying ahead of museum security and those idiots of the FBI would never lay a hand on us. Now we have to deal with Providence and Hope agents, not to mention their personal team the Gears! With our attentions divide on ensuring no one discovers our home or interferes with our mission, it's all but impossible for us to succeed!"

The others let him rant for a bit before Brede spoke up. He was Edan's best friend and their resident jack of all trades expert. Strolling over to his friend he plopped himself down on a nearby chair kicking his feet up until the rested on nearby nightstand. Edan shoved his feet off so he used a footstool instead. "You are blowing everything out of proportion Guildmaster. The situation isn't as hopeless as you make it out to be. In fact; the events of tonight might work in our favor."

"Oh why would you say that?" Brede simply took the laptop and brought up the footage of the fight. He freeze framed then played the part with Edan's fight frame by frame. Slowly his other guild mates smiled as they watched Generator get tossed through Titania's Mirror and a few seconds later someone else being flung out instead. For trained mages like themselves; they could see the faint mystical aura surrounding the body as it skidded to a stop a few feet away.

"The clash of magical and technological energy was enough to activate one of the mirrors! This is the proof we needed to confirm the mirrors weren't fakes," Faline exclaimed clapping her hands.

"More to the point, its solid evidence that there are other versions of the world that still have magic. Magic we need if our plan is to succeed," Odette added.

"Securing those mirrors has become more important than ever. Still, we need to be careful about this. There are still items we need in order to perform our ritual as well as people for testing. I'm still trying to locate a suitable spot for the ritual. If this newcomer does have a spark, then it's in our benefit to keep an eye on him," Edan mused.

The Ethereal Animals could literally feel their magical cores growing with excitement. For years they had struggled to stay alive in a world that was nearly depleted of magic. Every year that passed fewer people clung to the ancient ways as technology continued to grow. Even worship of the ancient gods and goddess was all but gone. If the Guild failed in their mission, then this world would forever lose its magic. They refused to let that happen and anyone who got in their way would suffer their wraith.

* * *

In the parallel world the sun had barely risen on a new day, but already there was excitement in the air. Circe was taking Rex to visit her mentor Tawret and Mage, the Savior of the Magical World, to see if they could help Rex find his way home, maybe more importantly what the Ethereal Animals wanted.

Using a transport spell in their suite Circe, Rex, and Eilonwy arrived just outside the silver temple at the base of the mountain. Rex was blown away by the majestic beauty and simplicity of the city of Haven. It was a beautiful rustic large town nestled in a valley among a two groves of birch and oak trees with a large crystal blue lake nearby. He could see pastures and fields where food and animals were raised. Practice fields dotted the area where they could see novices practicing.

"Yeah, it's beautiful isn't it? Oh here they are. Merry Met Priestess Tawret, Mage. It's good to see you both again," Circe said addressing the two women who had appeared at the entrance of the temple giving Rex the first glimpse of the two mysterious and powerful female mages.

Tawret was a beautiful old woman with long, cascading silver hair with white star streaking it. Though she was old, her skin was still as smooth and firm as ever. She wore diadem made of silver with the Triple Goddess symbol flanked by two stars. Her eyes were pale and she had star and moon birthmark on the side of neck near her descending moon and stars tattoo. She wore silver neck brace, bands, and chain bracelets and anklet. Clothed in soft shimmery silver white dress with scarves and slippers, she was a beauty.

Mage was in her early twenties with light cinnamon colored skin, long magenta hair streaked with silver was swept in a long, dangling high ponytail, and one brown and one black eye. She was wearing a dark rust red jacket with the top part missing on the right showing a silver crescent moon birthmark on the bicep. A form fitting black long sleeve shirt hugged her body with silver jewelry. A short black skirt with flame tips and black stocking with red punk busters completed the ensemble.

Tawret swept Circe in a hug kissing her forehead. She rubbed Eilonwy face earning a giggle from the toddler. Mage held her hand out shaking Rex who seemed unsure of what to do. "Welcome back child, your visit's bring joy to us. Since much of the Council has left to bring back magic to the world at large, I've been lonely with just Mage as company."

"Oh, I'm not that bad, especially with Luna inside me telling me stories of her travels," Mage joked about the merged goddess inside her. She turned her attention to the twitching Rex. "So you're another Rex? I have to say your cuter then some of the other versions we've seen in our cross time studies."

"Um thanks? Do you think you can help me get home or not? Do you know anything about the people who sent me here or what they want?"

Mage gestured for the family to follow her inside the temple. They bypassed the main area heading to a side room that housed the library of ancient tomes. With the power of the goddess Mage called forth the tomes she wanted with moonlight. They floated in front of Rex turning by themselves to the pages about the mirrors and guilds.

"As I'm sure that Circe has already explained, magical relics, especially the ones that belong to magical creatures, are powerful items indeed. We haven't found specifics on the mirrors themselves as yet, but your presences here indicates the danger in using them," Tawret explained gently as she took a seat a table. The others sat down joining her. The ancient High Priestess had a faraway look in her eyes as she recalled her own encounters with relics. "May I see the list of relics that have been stolen?"

Rex nodded pulling out the list out of his pocket. "I added the totems I saw around their necks as well, hoping you could tell me more about them. Now, what do you know about the Ethereal Animal Guild?"

"Specifically, nothing for that guild because it doesn't exist here to our knowledge, but guilds in general? I can tell you about them," Mage said. She flipped some pages in one of the books until she showed him a page with illustrations of different crest and an ancient map of the world dotted with them. "Long ago before the purges, magic was accepted and performed all over the world. Just as witches and warlocks belonged to covenants, and sorcerers and sorceress had their societies, regular mages belonged to guilds. Guilds, like any other, apprenticed mages teaching them how to use their gifts. They were places to gather, homes to live in, and of course take jobs to help the community they lived in. To belong to a guild meant the protection and love of a family. All guilds had crests to show who their members were."

"Most guilds were legal, but those who practiced dark arts and used their powers to harm others were known as dark guilds. Battles were fought by guilds to protect their lands from harm. During the purges almost all guilds were wiped out and the few that survived went into hiding, still performing services for those who believed in them. It is only in recent times with resurgence of magic in the world thanks to Luna's return, that guilds are popping up again."

"So the people I encountered were part of a dark guild if they were stealing stuff. I've never run across magic before to my knowledge. Why is that?"

The two covenant members were quiet for a bit. The only sounds were Eilonwy's happily playing with her mother's hair. Circe pulled it out trying to get her to be calm. Finally Mage responded slowly. "If I was to wager a guess based on the knowledge from Luna, I fear your world is almost out of magic. Luna is part of race that brought the knowledge of magic to our world ages ago. During their travels they came across many worlds that magic had all, but dried up. If your world is one version with little to no magic then it's possible the guild members are trying to bring it back."

"It would explain their itinerary and why they are using totems of the ancient gods. They're power boosters to aid them in their quest to return magic to the world even it means wiping out the modern world to do it. They must have wanted the mirrors to use to summon a creature that could pull magic from other worlds and bring it to them. Many items on this list could use the power boost granted by the mirrors to help accomplish their goals."

"If that's the case then they would also be on the lookout for people who have the potential to tap into magical forces. With a newly created army of potential mages, they could ensure magic rules the world. Still, magic is not something to trifle with or forced onto people. It could have disastrous results. We have to find a way to get Rex back and prevent them from unleashing a potential disaster," Circe stated.

"Save Earth yeah!" Eilonwy laughed.

"The question is how? I was brought here through the mirror via accidental sparks from Eilonwy. Can the spell be reversed on its own?" Rex asked. Circe shook her head, accidental magic always had unpredictable results. Trying to force Eilonwy to recreate her spell was asking for trouble. "Then we'll have to find another way back. In the meantime I'll need your help. If I'm going to battle magical forces I better train myself."

"We can help you with that young hero. Don't fear, we promise that all will be well," Tawret assured him. The others nodded in agreement. Rex hoped they were right.

* * *

While this had been going on things were looking up for Rex Van Kliess. The Gears and the Hayashi's had decided to return back to Hope a day early to use its resources to solve their problem. The agents from both Providence and Hope would remain in D.C. a little longer to work with the local forces in cracking this mystery. On the way back home Rex had broken his silence telling them more about his world so they had a better grasp on the situation.

Rex was impressed by the base and thought the auxiliary headquarters put Providence's Central Command to shame. At the moment he was in the training room with Circe and Bobo. They were trying to gauge his abilities. Not to mention they were trying to see how well he worked with them.

"Come on kid, show us what you got. I'm not going easy on you," Bobo yelled as he fired his laser pistols. Using his feet he latched on to the ceiling firing round after round at the kid. Rex flipped out of the way as he then did a handstand spreading his legs apart to avoid a shot before he got back to his feet.

Bobo didn't like that his target was getting away from him. He dropped from the ceiling jumping on top of a pillar spinning around it as he holstered his pistols. He launched himself at the boy ready to use his fist only for Rex to use his Smack Hands to deflect the chimp. Before he could attack again Rex whispered something before the chimp was covered up to his head in dirt. "What the heck is going on?"

Rex didn't have the chance to enjoy his foes defeat as someone nearly took his head off. He spun around trying to form a build only to have his wrists struck hard. Circe was relentless with her attacks. Punches, kicks, and strikes flew as the EVO had no choice, but to use hand to hand combat. He blocked with his forearms, tried kneeing her, but she rotated over his back doing a low sweep, but he jumped up. Rex charged her with his BFS ready to take her down, but she used her mouth.

Rex found himself stopped in his track, his build vanishing. He tried to summon his spark to protect himself, but Circe went in for the kill. She struck him hard in the chest with her foot knocking the wind out of him. Pulling out her rope dart she flicked it wrapping it around his legs pulling him to the ground, the rings digging into the skin. She placed her foot at his throat, her eyes cold and hard. "Do you surrender?"

"I yield! Whoa you're pretty tough. I thought you relied on your power suit and your EVO power to win battles. My wife is good at hand to hand combat, but nothing like you. I think your weapon could stop her before she could cast a spell, though it would be a close match," Rex said as he was let up. He was trying to get feeling back in his legs as he struggled to stand. He was unaware of the effects his words had on Circe, who was starting to look extremely uncomfortable.

"My power suit may give me an advantage, but relaying solely on it is a mistake. Just as you shouldn't rely on your builds so much. My guardian Dos has been training me to be self-reliant and dangerous. If you're going to work with the Gears you need to be able to adapt."

"I thought I was doing that. You want to help me to the infirmary? I think you might have cracked a rib, oh my nanites are trying heal me, but they could use some help." He gave her a small smile, but she flinched. Securing her weapon to her waist she rushed out the door. "What happened? Was it something I said?"

"You think you could be a bit more sensitive kid? You just compared her to her counterpart then acted like you were _her _boyfriend by giving her that dopey grin," Bobo asked after finally freeing himself from the dirt.

Rex looked down ashamed. He had forgotten for a moment where he was. No wonder Circe looked so upset, he should have been more tactful. As Bobo helped him to the infirmary he vowed to be more sensitive.

* * *

Circe was moping in the lounge of the base. She was trying to keep a stiff upper lip, but inside she was falling apart. The longer she interacted with this Rex, the more she realized he wasn't hers. It wasn't just his powers or looks, his mannerisms were different. "What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be falling apart like this. I've got to get a grip on my emotions."

"Under the circumstances, I think being a bit emotional is excusable daughter," a voice said from behind. Circe leapt into the air ready to attack only to have a cane push her back down. "You need to keep up your guard child. I could have taken you out easily if I wanted to."

"Sorry, I'll work harder on that Da I mean Dos," Circe blushed. Lately it was harder for her not to address her guardian in such a familiar way. He had taken her in after her own family disowned her, training and caring for her, perhaps even loved her, but she wasn't sure. "I didn't know you and the others were back."

"Six contact us about the turn of events. Since we had just completed our mission we hasten to return so we may could be of assistance. In all my years I've never come across a situation like this. I was watching you and the boy train. He's got a very different style then our Rex. His attacks, while thought out, lack a clear discipline. He seems to enjoy melee and sheer power though he is predictable. He should be a bit more spontaneous at times."

Circe shook her head. If Dos was suggesting spontaneity then something must be wrong. Her guardian sat down next to her resting his hands on top of his cane. He looked at her expectantly waiting for her to explain her state of mind.

"It's hard for me to be around him. He keeps thinking I'm his Circe, his wife and mother to his child. He doesn't see me and it hurts because it's a constant reminder who he's not. I'm also worried about our Rex. How is he doing in the other world? Is he okay or is he hurt? What happens if we can't bring him back?"

"Child, I know this is difficult, but you have to try keep your emotions in check. If you fall apart now then you're no use to anyone especially our Rex. As difficult as it is working with this one, he is our best chance at switching the two. Our foes have abilities unfamiliar to us. If he can give us an edge in capturing them then we need to give him our support. As for the way he treats you? Show him who you are and make him see that. He needs to see all of you in a new light."

He hugged her tightly making her feel much better. Dos was right, she needed to push past this for the sake of everyone. She headed for the infirmary to check on Rex Van Kliess and give him another chance. Hopefully they could work together to fix this situation.

* * *

In the other world another Circe was struggling with a different Rex as she tried to get her daughter to settle down for a nap. Eilonwy was being extremely fussy and was not happy at all. She wanted to play with her "daddy". At last, he wasn't here.

"Please my little icon, go to sleep. You need to rest."

"No! Want to play! Daddy do airplane!"

Circe shook her head, her expression forlorn. She gently tried to push her daughter down so she could cover her with a blanket. "Your daddy's not here remember? I'm not sure he would play with you."

"New daddy no play?"

Circe's eyes widened in horror. "Don't you ever say that again Eilonwy! He's not your daddy!" Poor little girl started bawling her head off. Circe felt so guilty as she picked her up trying to rock her child. "Shuu, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm not mad at you. I'm really not. I'm just sad."

"Mommy sad?" the little girl sniffed. "No be sad Mommy. Daddy will return I prwmis!"

"I wish I had your confidence my little one." The teen put her daughter down mumbling a small spell. Her daughter yawned closing her eyes and snuggling down to sleep. Turning off the light she exited the room heading for the kitchen for a snack only to run into Rex. "Oh Rex, I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's okay really. Look, I understand how hard this must be for you and everyone else here. I'm not trying to replace your husband, the father of your child, or the friend everyone knows. I just want to return to where I belong. I'm sure your Rex is having the same problems, but if I know my parents and brother, and I do, they're not going to stop until things are set right. We just have to have a little faith is all."

Circe nodded placing her hand in his squeezing it. She had to be strong for all the people in her extend family. No matter what she wouldn't give up hope of restoring what was broken.


	3. Fractured Reflection

In the Hayashi household Six and Holiday were trying to convince Rex Van Kliess that he needed to act like their son for the time being, but he was very resistant, especially when it came to one issue.

"You want me to go to school? But I'm eighteen and I have my GED. I've never even gone to school. According to my parents I was home schooled all my life. As a Providence agent there wasn't time for school, hence my GED."

"We understand that you've already graduated, but our son hasn't. We can't afford to let anyone figure out that you're not our "Rex". So you have to go to school I'm sorry," Holiday replied gently. She picked up some clothes, a bottle of hair dye, and a backpack. "Here, these are the clothes our son wears and some hair dye to cover your white streak."

Rex took the clothes, but pushed away the hair dye. He wasn't about to change his entire look just to satisfy them. He went into the bathroom changing into his counterpart's clothes and had removed the studs from his ears. He took the backpack reviewing the schedule inside. It along with the textbooks inside boggled his mind.

Sensing his discomfort Six offered to drive the teen to school. The boy nodded staying silent the whole way. Six tried to engage him in conversation only for the boy to ignore him. The former mercenary had hoped that they would have reached past this point by now, but Rex Van Kliess was still an enigma to everyone.

Waiting in the parking lot were the other Gears save Beverly of course. They were all anxious knowing a single slip up could result in their identities being discovered. Sure Providence and Hope knew who they were, but not the general population. They looked up and smiled when they saw "Rex" only his eyes were bugging out.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling okay?" Cree asked. He kept staring at her, Tucker, and Walter as if he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

"How are you human? Are you wearing some kind of illusion technology? What if someone touches you, will they feel your skin texture?"

The trio smirked as Walter grabbed the boy's hand in his. He let him feel their normal skin. Then he dangled their medical alert bracelets in front of him before activating his ink tattoo. After a few seconds it vanished as he gave an explanation. "Our Rex gave us the option of being able to turn our powers off and on. We can use the tattoos to switch into EVO mode and activate our body armor if need be. If we run into a situation that requires our powers, but we can't risk exposure of our EVOselves, such as a large crowd or in school, we use Beverly's illusion bracelets. They make us appear human while we use our powers so no one can pinpoint us."

"Awesome right? You can't imagine how cool it is to be able to have a normal life, but be able to kick butt anytime of the day," Cree giggled. "What, no one thought of this idea in your world?"

Rex shook his head. He wanted to explain how in his world the goal for EVOs was to be accepted as they are. "In my world, there are no more new EVOs thanks to myself and Naniqueen. She's the leader of the nanites, created when the five Meta Nanites merged together to create a consciousness. Thanks to her and myself everyone lives in symbiotic relationship with their nanite networks. They learn from us and in turn we get access to their benefits. Ever since the symbiosis was perfected all EVOs on the planet have regained their minds. There's no reason to hide their identity seeing as the goal is equality."

"That's a nice dream to have. Equality and world peace would revolutionize the world. No wonder you fight so hard for that," Claire said. He nodded glad that they understood. The warning bell went off so they hurried to get to homeroom before getting detention.

School was a strange experience for Rex. He had never been around so many kids his own age except for that time he went to Cabal Luna. Lots of kids were friendly to him asking how he was, what his "parents" were doing and if he had tried to dye his hair and it went wrong.

The teachers were also very nice. They all had friendly things to say to him. Rex got the impression his counterpart was a good student, especially when it came to math and art. Math wasn't hard for him, Calculus was easy compared to art. He couldn't draw to save his life, something that prompted the teacher to ask if he was alright when he handed in a bunch of scribbles for his life art assignment.

He was in the restroom when he encountered the downside to school. He was just drying his hands when a group of skater punks entered the room. "Oh look its Rexy. What's with the hair freak, lose a battle with whiteout?" McKelly demanded snickering. His buddies laughed and chortled.

"Can I help you with something?" Rex wanted to know looking at them with a bored expression. He was feeling trapped by the gang. He tried to push past him when two of the guys rushed him grabbing him. Without thinking he struck back disabling his opponents with ease. The bullies came at him again only for him to grab and spin them into the stalls.

"You'll pay for that Hayashi!" McKelly sputtered. He pulled himself out of the toilet. He was seething as he got ready to attack only for the toilet paper to come to life wrapping him up. A pipe came lose spewing sewer water drowning the bullies as someone dragged him out of the bathroom.

"You're either insane or very brave attacking McKelly and his gang. McKelly only passed trig last year because of Rex, but that hasn't earned him a reprieve from his bullying. You have to ignore it or risk getting exposed," Tucker hissed into his ear. You understand the consequences of what exposure could mean?"

"He attacked me! I was just defending myself!" Tucker smacked him upside the head. It didn't matter what the circumstances were, Gears didn't fight in school at all. Hopefully the bully would take a hint and not cause problems for them.

Rex was thankful that he had a study hall period after lunch. The amount of homework assigned by the teachers was staggering. He couldn't begin to comprehend some of these assignments. Chemistry wasn't that hard considering his background, but sociology class was challenging. He had to fill out three sheets on definitions and give examples. He also had to come up with solutions to different situational problems. He wanted to use examples from his life, but realized that would expose him.

He was so happy when the final bell rang and he was let out. The others gave him sympathetic looks understanding how he felt. "Yeah school can be a major pain. They really pile up the work for seniors, but only because they want to help us get into a good college. Be thankful it's not SAT prep week," Annie commented as she tripped over a crack, crashing into a garbage can before getting tangled up in a bush.

"Are you accident prone?" Rex asked. The others laughed at the understatement. He felt himself blush unsure what was so funny. "Um so what do you guys normally do after school?"

"Depends on the day. Six and Holiday asked us to bring you to Hope. Caesar is hoping to figure a scientific method to getting you back," Circe explained. She knew that Rex was convinced that the only way to return home was to use magic. That's why Hope had gotten permission to take temporary custody of the mirrors from the museum. Caesar had to sign dozens of forms promising not to damage the priceless artifacts as he ran some experiments.

Noah gave him a brohug leading him to his car. He was confident that Caesar could help them. If not maybe this Rex could figure a way to use magic on the mirrors. All he knew is that they needed to start somewhere. As the group headed to Hope they prayed Caesar had made some progress.

* * *

A jump jet was zooming through the air toward Abysus. Six was piloting the jump jet as Holiday sat behind him. She was accompanying him as they escorted Rex and Circe to meet up with the leaders of Abysus. While Tawret and Mage were working on finding a magical solution to reverse the switch, Shaka Van Kliess and Anya/Seven of Nine were hoping to stumble upon a scientific one. At the very least they could attempt to find a way to contact the parallel world.

Holiday glanced over her shoulder in the bay area. The boy hadn't had a change of clothes so he was forced to wear his counterparts clothing. He wasn't very comfortable in them, they were a little tight. Apparently this Rex worked out physically giving him more of a toned, muscular body. He also didn't have pierced ears so he had forgone the jewelry.

Rex looked up smiling at her happily with love and adoring with complete trust. He felt safe with her and Six. When Circe has told him they were going to Abysus he refused to leave without his power suit. He didn't have good memories of Abysus and no amount of reassurance would put him at ease.

Holiday turned around to address Six. "His body language is sending mix messages. He's very scared of the thought of meeting Shaka and spending time in Abysus. At the same time he's got complete faith in us and our decision to bring him there. It's confusing to say the least."

"Not really, we represent his norm. His world has revolved around us for six years training and loving him. It's similar to the bond we have with our Rex, only this one is deeper and more personal because in his world…"

"He was raised and protected by us. They even fought his remaining family to keep him. I can understand that desire, remember when Shaka kidnapped and changed Rex?"

"You mean the events that triggered our current situation? Of course, I do. The bonds of family and friendship will make you do just about anything." Six checked his instruments. They would be arriving in Abysus in a few minutes.

As the jet descended from the sky towards the small airport Rex got his first glimpse of Abysus. He was shocked by what he saw. The sky was not red for starters, but a bright blue with fluffy clouds. There were roadways that blended in with the strategically place EVO plants. There were areas set aside for growing food and purified lakes. He spotted at least two small towns and third being set up. The castle was fixed appearing more like a stately mansion. All over the small country both humans and EVOs were working together and living in harmony.

Circe correctly read the excitement and astonishment in his eyes. "Impressive isn't it? Abysus has only been recognized as an official country for a little over a year and half. It took me a long time to restore Abysus reputation after Van Kliess ruined it, but the rewards have been worth it. A safe sanctuary for EVOs to live and humans to learn to accept them. This place is a stepping stone for the eventual goal of world peace."

After securing the jump jet the small group was taken via shuttle bus to the castle. Upon arrival security led them to the office of President Van Kliess. The doors opened to reveal Van Kliess wearing a comfortable suit. Standing next to him was a woman who greatly resembled Seven of Nine only with long brown hair in a loose fitting ponytail in a special skintight body suit/dress. Also in the room was a lady who greatly resembled Holiday save for her short hair in a white blouse and knee length blue skirt. They all looked up smiling at their guests.

"Sister! It's been too long, how are your little experiments going," Ulani asked hugging her sister. The Head of Education and Personal Safety was delighted to see her sister. She gawked at her wedding ring and gave her brother in law a big hug.

Shaka and Anya exchanged pleasantries with Circe before turning to Rex. He was shaking and trying to back up, feeling trapped and uncomfortable. Anya used a coil from her bionic leg to hold her husband back as she approached the boy. "You must be Rex Hayashi. It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Abysus, I understand that this place must have mixed memories for you as well as the people, but I assure you no one is going to hurt you."

"I know, but the two times I was here, I nearly got turned into a super charged out of control EVO and eaten by a nanite wall," Rex muttered. Anya nodded in understanding. She held out her implants letting him touch them. He connected with her nanites, talking to them getting an understanding of them. "Amazing aren't they?"

Rex wanted to talk more about her special nanites and her powers, but she led the group to her private lab. The androids were repurposing a machine with large rings and platform. It seemed to sputtering as they worked on the power source. The platform started to sizzle causing them to shut the machine down. One of the androids, a tall handsome looking man with synthetic skin and eyes addressed Anya.

"My lady, I apologize. We've been attempting to repurpose the transmit portal, but it's slow going. Without the sun crystal as power source it might be impossible to get this machine to open a portal," Doc said.

"I understand Doc, that's why I brought the expert of machines to you. Rex, you can talk to machines in a way none of us can. This machine was designed to open a portal into the Nanite Nexus, we've been trying to rewire it to work by isolating a cross time line then opening a small tear in the fabric of space/subspace so we can connect with your reality. Ulani's been helping me with the mathematical formulas and Shaka's been assisting with the construction, but I can't do this on my own. Will you assist me?" Rex nodded putting on safety goggles as they got to work.

* * *

At the same time Rex was helping Anya with the Gateway Caesar was hard at work trying to repair a long unused piece of tech. He hadn't used his dimensional disruptor gun since he sent Alpha into a pocket dimension. He was determined to get his little brother back no matter what it took.

"This has to work, it just has too!" Caesar whispered as he tinkered with the device. He was carefully adjusting some of the internal hardware when the doors to the lab whooshed open. He looked up to see Holiday enter the lab carrying a report. Caesar put down his tools looking at her with a guarded expression. "Have you discovered something useful about those mirrors?"

"Take a look for yourself. I've been running tests all morning and I've barely scratched the surface of those relics," Holiday said, sliding the report across the table. She brushed a loose strand of hair back as she settled into a seat. She looked rather tired after her long hours without a break. "I've been running a series of tests on the mirrors trying to figure a way to trigger the appropriate response, but haven't yield any results yet. The composition of the mirrors is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"How so? I thought the mirrors had been analyzed by experts already at the Smithsonian?"

"They had been, even they were surprised by the results. The mirrors appear to be made of refined minerals, but the composition indicates the conductivity of the mirrors is unusually high. The metal, which hasn't been positively identified, seems to be able to contain large amounts of energy at any given time. Also I tested the glass, it's beyond pure. The refraction rate is phenomenal."

The doors whooshed open as the teens and Six entered. They had been listening to the conversation and wondered what it meant. Seeing their puzzled expressions Holiday gave them a short lecture on the topic. The refraction index helped them determine the speed and power of light passing through a medium. The rate that it was reflecting could signify a pathway to another place if the light traveled at a fast enough speed.

"I can't believe that you managed to gather scientific evidence on magic. I knew that some physics could be applied to the unnatural phenomenon, still, your tests aren't helping us figure out how to open the pathway back. I don't have enough of a spark to activate the mirrors' portal functions," Rex said. He was snacking on an apple. He looked up at Caesar who was about to open his mouth to dismiss magic once again when Rex beat him to the punch. "How can you deny the existence of magic when you've seen me use it or the fact that I'm here to begin with?"

"Your nanites are a blend of three types merged together to give you the power of earth, not some invisible spark. The mirrors supposed magic powers can be scientifically explained by the theory of pocket dimensions. My own dimensional gun here can do the same thing."

"That doesn't explain why at times the mirrors don't reflect what's right in front of them," Beverly said. She had been standing in front of Titania's mirror and her reflection had appeared in Oberon's while Annie's had appeared in hers though she was in front of Oberon's.

"Our own power suit sensory data still can't explain how the Ethereal Animal Guild was able to do what they did. You can claim it was nanites, but they were entirely dormant when I was fighting for my life. Science can't explain how I almost got turned into a stone statue!" Noah scowled. The other members of the Gears also brought up facts and examples of unexplained phenomenon.

_"¿Ha perdido su mente? La última vez no hay tal cosa como magia, sólo la ciencia! Estoy tratando de obtener mi hermano y todo lo que puede hacer es tratar de convencer a mí de algo que no existe."_

_ "Magia es real. Es frustrante y a veces no tiene sentido, pero sí que existen. Cuanto antes se acepte que el hermano la mejor estará."_

_ "Voy a probar que no hay tal cosa como magia, es simplemente ciencia!"_

_ "Vaya por delante, estoy deseando ver su expresión cuando el equivocado."_

"Enough, not all of us speak Spanish so I appreciate it greatly if you would talk in a language we all understand. Now, I don't care who is right or wrong in this situation. All that matters is we work together to fixing this switch. Caesar is your dimensional gun ready for testing?" Six demanded in cold controlled tone of voice. The elder Hispanic quickly nodded in fear. "Good, then we're going to the main lab for a test run. Let's see how your device works in the vicinity of the mirrors."

"Remind me never to piss off Six," Cree whispered to her boyfriend who nodded vigorously. The group made their way to the main lab. The mirrors sat in different testing sites near each other behind a protective barrier. The kids all placed on safety goggles. They each took their places behind the barrier. Everyone was anxious to see if this test would work.

Caesar fumbled with the gun adjusting the controls. Sweat trickled down his face as he activate the gun. They were was a loud harm and then a sizzle followed by a briong sound when a burst of energy sprang from the tip. The red energy shot out forming a misty cloud in front of the barrier. It fizzled and shifted barely holding its shape. "Come on, work."

"Look at that!" Claire shouted in surprise. Behind the barrier Titania's mirror was pulsating. The glass started to shimmer. Suddenly Oberon's mirror released a surge of power that broke the barrier. As glass and metal shards flew everywhere the energies merged together. Caesar nearly dropped his device as he stared in wonder of an image floating in the now indigo energy. "REX!"

Indeed it was Rex and Anya on the other side. They were staring at stunned disbelief on the other side. They had been sending out pings to find the right cross time dimension when the Gateway went haywire. Somehow the mirrors were acting as mediums channeling the energies between the two worlds "Caesar!"

Caesar reached out to touch his brother only for the cloud to start to dissipate. Desperate he tried to fix it when a voice shouted "_Terra Kinetic Release!" _A bolt of yellow energy clipped his hair as it stabilized the portal. Rex Van Kliess stood next to Caesar, using his left arm to help steady the device as the right one glowed brightly.

"Anya! Can you keep the Gateway stabilized enough for us to cross?!"

"The energy core is destabilizing even with your manna trying to compensate for the loss! We're going to lose you in a matter of minutes!" Anya replied, her implants could be seen trying to keep the machine from crashing. In the background you could hear shouting and tools being yanked out. There was the sound of something about to explode. "It's no good, the Gateway has to be shut down or we'll lose it!"

"No, not yet! I have to see my family," Rex Hayashi wailed. He got a glimpse of his parents and family. "Mom, Dad! Everyone!"

"Rex! Are you okay?!" Holiday cried.

"I'm fine, you need to protect those mirrors! The Guild that attack is dark and want to use them to steal magic from other versions of reality to replenish ours. It's dangerous what they're doing ahh!" Rex screamed as his hand was burnt. He crumbled to the ground.

"REX!" his parents shouted. The portal was fading as Rex Van Kliess poured more manna into it. His spark was almost depleted.

"I'll do my best to keep the guild from succeeding. There's got to be an expert in this world that can help us switch back. In the meantime keep up your guard! Our own enemies could take advantage of this to hurt us! I'll find a way back to you all. I love you!" he shouted just as the image shattered. The backlash sent everyone flying through the air as the mirrors powered down. Though contact had been brief it was enough to let them know the switched Rexs were okay.

* * *

In Abysus the Gateway was kaput for the time being. Without a stable power source most of the internal hardware had fused together. The connection between the two worlds had almost damaged the device beyond repair. It would take all of Shaka and Anya's ingenuity to fix it.

At the moment their attention had shifted to Rex. He had gotten severe burns from the energy when he tried to touch his family through the portal. He was whimpering in pain as Doc and Nurse attended to him in the sickbay area. His nanites weren't healing his hands like they normally did and that was disconcerting.

"Hold still please. I need to treat the burns before we can wrap them up. You're very lucky, these could have been much worse. This salve should treat the burns while soothing the skin. Hmm, no dead skin that's a relief. You should be fine as long as you take it easy," Nurse said as she finished bandaging up his hands.

"Still, I'm disconcerted about the slow response time of your nanites. Your nanites should be healing you at a much faster rate. You mentioned you have complete control over your nanites?" Doc questioned. His charge nodded telling him about how he could turn his nanites off and on through sheer will. "Fascinating, even our Rex after gaining his triple layer nanite network doesn't have that control. Still, it begs the question why they're not working correctly."

Anya walked over to the table, flicking out a needle from her bionic hand. "Let's take a blood sample shall we? Hold still please you might feel a slight prick." Rex winced in pain nearly crying out as the implant needle pricked his arm. She gave him a look saying he was acting like a baby.

Anya went into full Seven of Nine mode as she walked over to her work station plugging into the tools. She used her bionic eye as she zoomed in on the nanoscopic level. Her tools ran a full panel of tests as communicate with the nanites testing their response speed and exchange of program data. About ten minutes later she unhooked herself. "Well that's unusual."

Holiday, who had come over to the work station, looked over the data darting across the computer screen. She tapped a few keys bringing up a program. She entered in some code running a scenario frowning slightly. She wasn't pleased by the results either.

"Quintessa, what's the matter? You're biting your lip and have a single eyebrow raised. That usually means that something is unsettling you," Six remarked to his wife. He had gotten really good at reading her body language over the years.

"Is something wrong with me? Am I sick?" Rex asked, he slid off the table taking a stance next to the group. He tried to get a good luck at the screen, but his view was blocked as Shaka took a look at the data. He took a step back not wanting to be close to the man.

"You're not sick child, your nanites are displaying some unusual signs is all. Their response time is much slower and they're not talking with one another as they should be. Examination of them reveals some damage to them physically. The programming is slightly corrupt," Shaka Van Kliess explained.

"Can you create a build for us please?" Seven of Nine asked. Rex responded making his Punk Busters. He let out cry of pain as the build shattered. He was staring at his legs in horror. It had never hurt before to make his builds. He reached out with his mind trying to talk to his nanites only to get a serious headache. Circe knelt down next to him, concern knitted on her forehead.

"Take it easy Rex, it will be okay. What's wrong with his nanites? They were working fine when he first came here."

Anya and Holiday were talking with one another in jargon unsure what to tell the teens. Finally Anya pressed some buttons on her bionic arm projecting a hologram of his nanites. They were a sickly green flickering off and on. The Omega wasn't responding at all. "The energy from the Gateway and your brother's device didn't just burn your hands, the backlash from the energy has damaged your nanites physically. Since you're not part of the symbiotic network you can't use our energy to repair them like we do normally. I don't think the damage is permanent, but you have to restrain from creating your builds for a time."

"This sucks, not only haven't we been able to send me back, my friends are in trouble if as long as that Guild is still in operation. Your friends in Haven haven't figured a way to undo this mess or prevent the catastrophe from unfolding. I feel so helpless."

"Don't worry Rex, everything is going to be okay," Circe assured him.

* * *

In the other world Rex Van Kliess was suffering in his own way. He had used up most his spark to keep the portal open. Now he was suffering from exhaustion. Holiday, had insert an IV drip to help get him back on his feet. While she tended to him the others checked on Caesar. The elder Hispanic was also injured. The explosion had rattled him up leaving him with some nasty gashes from where metal fragments had dug into his skin.

Claire, with help from Cree, carefully removed the shards of metal, before wrapping his hands. Cree was asking Caesar questions to see if he had a concussion, but it looked like he was okay in that department. All seemed well.

While the two Hispanics were being treated Beverly was doing her thing on the computer. She may not have her sister's scientific brain, but she knew enough to run comparative charts on the data from the test to see if they matched the data from the attack. "Hmm, the energy spikes weren't nearly as high or stable during Caesar's test as they were during the clash between Rex and Edan."

Annie peered over her friend's shoulder resting one hand on the back of the chair. She was looking at the video feed of the mirrors and the sensory data output during and after the test. "Look at this, the mirrors reacted to the energy from the device by absorbing it and changing it."

"The question is what kind of energy was created. Caesar's device was designed to open portals between dimensions, but according Rex VK, his world is a parallel timeline. So how did the resident genius managed to locate the right timeline and open up a hole?" Tucker asked the group. He and Walter were leaning against the barrier while Noah himself did a physical exam of the mirror with Circe's help. "The mirrors might reacted only to certain kinds of energy. If that's the case then we'll probably need specific energy frequency for a stable time period to keep a portal open long enough to switch them back."

"That's if we can find the right timeline and version of reality again. It was blind luck that Caesar managed to find the right one. I hate to say it, but we're shooting blind here. None of us have any real understanding of magical objects or the scientific comprehension of the laws of time/space. Even genius over here admits this is out of his league. His expertise are AI and micro engineering. Holiday has various decrees, but none of them of them are in the areas we need help with," Walter pointed out.

The others looked down casted as they glanced at Holiday and Six, trying to help Rex sit up. The IV drip seemed to have worked and he was slowly recovering. Claire was arguing with Caesar about getting back to work while Cree threatened to beam him if he didn't listen to her. Things were not looking up.

Someone snapping their fingers loudly got everyone's attention. It was Noah who had a look of determination on his face. In one hand he was just closing his cell. He signaled they needed to talk about something. The group all sat down at a conference table. Six pulled out a chair for Caesar and Holiday aided Rex in maneuvering into a seat. Once they were all settled Six nodded his head indicating Noah should speak.

"I just got off the phone with our agents. They weren't able to find any new evidence and the guild itself has vanished from the area. There have been no more robberies since we left. Of the evidence collected none of it is making sense to the labs. They're willing to turn the case entirely over to Providence and Hope, based on the "EVO" attack we witnessed," he explained to the group.

"Were the thieves identified at all? Do we have any idea of what their next target is and how they plan to achieve the objective that our Rex mentioned?" Six asked.

Noah shook his head. The faces and DNA collected had been ran through all databases with no match whatsoever. They hadn't been able to figure out where and when the Guild would strike again or how they planned to steal magic from other worlds. They were at their wits end.

Circe cleared her throat before speaking. "I think the time has come to ask for outside help. I know it's dangerous, but I think we need to get in touch with Breach and Van Kliess," she stated over the protests of everyone gathered, save Rex who looked confused.

"Why wouldn't they want to help us? Breach is my loyal friend and Van Kliess is my Uncle. I know he doesn't look it, but he takes after my grandmother."

"In your world maybe baby brother. In this world, Breach was a valuable ally in our fight against Van Kliess. She aided us in our mission to prevent Van Kliess from ruling the world. In the final battle she agreed to keep all the EVOs who didn't want to be cured and Van Kliess locked up in her pocket dimension. He agreed to stay there and rule them never to return to Earth without Rex's permission. My brother said that one always needs a foil for these situations. Still I don't want to…"

"Shut up Caesar, we all know how you feel about Van Kliess. Still he may be our only hope," Circe interrupted, her arms folded her eyes barely slits. She was pulling out her phone to go through contacts. "Even if he is a third rate lab hack, he's fully studied Breach's powers and the theory of time travel. In his quest for power nothing would have been overlooked, including magic. I'm calling Breach. Hopefully she can bring us into her dimension since she can't come here with VK."

Everyone was nervous and uncertain, but they had nothing else to go on. They had no idea where their enemies were or how to use the mirrors. Caesar's device had managed a brief contact, but if they were to undo the switch, plus prevent the Guild's success, they needed all the help they could get. Even if it meant asking their worst enemy for help.

* * *

At the moment the Guild were in the home of a private collector. They had broken in taking out the guards with ease. Brede had used his stonegaze turning them into statues. Faline had used her own speed to tie up the owner, gag him, and toss him into a closet with a warning to stay quiet if he wanted to live.

Coming down the stairs they met up with Odette and Edan who were going through the large library looking for specific artifacts and texts. In order to perform the ritual to steal magic and implant it in people, they need a specific grimoire. Odette, using her takeover magic, had transformed into a large bat scouring the shelves. She was zooming around the room firing her echolocation checking for hollow sections.

She let out a screech of delight when she came upon a hidden panel near a stain glass window. She landed on a lamp pointing a wing at the wall. Edan nodded as he gathered his magic. With little effort he tore the pane off revealing a purple and black gothic style book. His girlfriend reverted to human form as he carefully extracted the book. "Is that it? Is it what we've been searching for?"

Edan nodded his head, his eyes twinkling with delight. "Yes, after many years of searching and false leads, the Grimoire of Hearts, is finally ours. This book contains some of the most powerful spells ever created by past mages. In here is everything we need to know about the ritual to retrieve then redistribute the magic from other worlds. Look Odette, this map illustrates the spots in the world where the ritual can take place."

"Time has destroyed a few of them. According to the book, the ritual must take place equal distant from the five elements: Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Quintessence. Also the epicenter must be purified. Is there anything about the timing that has to be honored?"

"Yes, but we can worry about that later. Faline, Brede was our host kind enough to tell you where he was keeping the other items on the list that we need?"

Faline nodded, giving him a grin flashing her cat like teeth. "I had to use my claws, but I finally got truth out of him. Behold, the Golden Keys of the Magical Dimensions," she said twirling a loop with several gold intricately designed keys dangling from it. Each had a symbol etched on them. She held up another ring, this one containing a few silver keys. They weren't as stylized and had words etched on them. "As an added bonus, I found us the Silver Keys of Magic Beings. Imagine us being able to summon creatures to do our bidding."

Brede frowned, none of them knew that particular brand of magic, but still the keys would come in handy. He showed the guild master the items he retrieved including armor, weapons, and lastly four rings. Each group member took a ring slipping it on. A warmth spread through their bodies as they felt their cores harmonizing with one another.

"With our combined magical might, nothing can stop us. I've been using my snake friends to keep an eye on the target. According to them the teen's spark is weak, but still there. Good news for us correct?"

Edan dipped his head in agreement. If the boy's spark remained faint he wouldn't be much of a threat. Should it get stronger, well that's was good news for them as well. After one final sweep they left the house ready to move on to phase two of their plan.


	4. Mirror Monster

Circe, Noah, along with Rex and the Hayashis' were waiting at the designated meeting spot. After finally getting Breach on the phone she had agreed to meet with them to bring the group into her world. They were all nervous and wondering how well Breach was holding up after spending two months in her pocket dimension with Van Kliess.

Circe checked her watch again, tapping her foot impatiently. Noah was on point as he looked around for signs of trouble. Breach had instructed them to meet her just outside the public library, one of her favorite places in the world. Rex was trying to act nonchalant, but it wasn't easy. He was concerned about meeting this new version of his longtime friend. "Are you sure this is where she said to meet her?"

"I'm positive, she said she be here at five of clock, at it's almost five. I'm sure she'll be here. I hope she's okay, on the phone she sounded almost normal."

"Normal normal or Breach normal? Hey, I'm saying she tends to have mood swings that can be unpredictable remember?" Noah pointed out when he got a scathing look from Circe. He was about to apologize when everyone felt the hair on their arms stand on ends. Holiday and Six gripped their weapons tightly as the kids got in a defensive stance.

Rex got ready to form a build just as a red portal opened up. Four arms shot out, wrapping him up in such a tight hug, he fell over on the ground. He felt locks of hair tickle his face as he looked up to see a slightly manic grin on Breach's face. "Hello Rex, I missed you. Wait you're not Shiny Rex, you smell funny! Why do you smell so funny?"

"I'm not the Rex your use to, didn't Circe tell you that on the phone?"

"Best friend Circe said a lot of things, I didn't understand everything," she explained helping him up with one pair and hugging Circe with another. She shook hands with everyone else before taking a seat on a nearby bench. She was a bit timid about being in the real world again after spending so much time in her pocket dimension where everyone was an EVO. "So, what do you need my help for?"

Holiday is the one who spoke up first. "We need to talk with Van Kliess, its urgent. It has to do with getting our Rex back and possibly stopping a threat to the entire world. We need to go to Abysus."

Breach's eyes widened as her entire body stiffened as she heard their request. She looked at the two adults as if they had grown another head. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Van Kliess has been really testy lately. He's still upset about not getting the Meta Nanites. Ruling a nation of EVOs is small consolation to losing on ultimate power."

"To bad for him. He should be grateful about what he has. Has Van Kliess been harming you in anyway?" Six questioned the girl. His powerful observation skills didn't detect any injuries and his wife hidden scanner hadn't gone off. That signaled that the EVO girl wasn't being controlled. Not waiting for an answer to his previous question the ex-mercenary plowed on. "Breach, we understand that it would be dangerous for us in your world, but the circumstances are dire. Only Van Kliess's expertise will help us with our problem. Can you please take us to your world?"

Sighing Breach reluctantly agreed to take them to her pocket dimension. Noah and Circe put on their power suits leaving their cowls down for now. Six tightened his grip on his katanas as his wife readied her sidearm. Rex was the only one who didn't power up as they stepped through the portal. Going through Breach's portal was different then being flung out of a magic mirror. He felt a slight tingle on the back of his neck and his stomach got a bit queasy, but they emerged unscathed inside the courtyard.

Rex's eyes were nearly popping out of his sockets as he was transfixed by everything he saw. "You managed to engulf an entire country, including the _sky_ into your pocket dimension? That's amazing, the largest thing I ever saw you portal was a single town." Breach blushed at the unexpected praise she received pleased by it.

Suddenly the group found themselves surrounded by the guard led by Biowulf and Skalamander. Neither EVO looked particularly happy to see the group. The looks they gave the small contingents hurt Rex deeply considering he was good friends with the Pack back home. He noticed his companions had their hands on their weapons ready to use them if things became ugly.

Biowulf took a sniff before speaking in a harsh voice, "Why are they here Breach? I thought the agreement was we live our lives separate from the outside world and they don't bother us ever again."

"Yeah, are they planning to go back on their word?" Skalamander hissed.

"Calm down you two, they need to talk with Van Kliess is all. They have a serious problem! Use your nose Biowulf, what does it tell you? Besides it's not up to you if our guests get to see our master or not. He's the one who agreed to the meeting remember?" Growling the second in command dismissed most of the guard. The trio then escorted the small group towards the throne room.

Van Kliess was in a meeting with some of his staff about issues with food and power when they arrived. A cold smirk appeared on his face as he enjoyed the position he was in. He stood up holding his hands up wide open. The earth slightly trembled as he created a makeshift table and seating. "Hello old friends, I'm so happy to see you again. Would you please take a seat? Refreshments anyone? My chef was just about to serve dinner"

The group took their seats as Van Kliess milked the situation for all it was worth. He was enjoying the fact that they needed his help. He was about to make a rude comment when he noticed the longing look on Rex's face. The expression spoke of love; unnerving him. He held up his hand to stop the food from being served. "Breach relayed some of what was going on, but I admit I could use a clearer explanation. Tell me why you decided that you need your foil so to speak."

"Because Unc… I mean Lord Van Kliess, I'm not the Rex that placed you in this world. I'm from a parallel timeline/reality brought here by magic. There are evil forces at work, ones that would like nothing more than to take advantage of the situation to destroy the world. Circe told me that you have expert knowledge when it comes to understanding time/space relations. She also hinted you have some knowledge about magic. That could help us in dealing with the Ethereal Animal Guild," Rex explained, he was pleading with the man, something the Rex he knew wouldn't do.

"I admit, that I have vast repositories on all subjects, you mentioned, but I'm still wondering why I should be inclined to agree to assist you. After all, I can't return to Earth so what happens there has no effect on me. What's in it for me?"

"Other then the satisfaction of doing the right thing? Nothing," Six replied coldly.

"Then maybe I won't help you. I admit I'm greatly intrigued by what little I know of the situation. The chance to study this version of Rex is very tempting, but I'm not willing to lift a finger to help for a mere snack," Van Kliess said as he studied his golden hand.

The guests were getting angry, itching for their weapons when Rex's right hand rushed out grabbing on tightly to the mechanical hand. His eyes lit up as blue white lines shot through both. Biowulf and Skalamander moved into to aid their leader, only for Holiday to hold them at bay with one shot from her gun paralyzing the duo. After a few seconds the connection was broken and both EVOs looked at each other panting slightly.

"Never… experienced…something like that before. Your…memories…are very…vivid. You have complete trust in me, something of a rarity in the world," Van Kliess chuckled as he sat up straight. Rex didn't say anything just tried to get his breathing under control. "Very well, I'll help you out for now, but I still expect something in return by the time this little venture is through."

"Thank you," Rex whispered.

* * *

Across the divide of space and time a single being was working overtime. Mage had confined herself in the temple library going over all the texts they had available on guilds, magical objects, and rituals pertaining to stealing someone's magic. The amount of knowledge of the subjects was staggering and it was taking a lot of patience to sort out what was important and what wasn't.

"With so many conflicting stories it's a wonder that the Councilmembers haven't gone insane yet. How do people like Daegan and Bevin managed to not lose their minds reading all the time," Mage whispered. She felt something like a bubbly giggle in the back of her mind laughing at her misfortune. She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. Of course Luna found her plight amusing. Why wouldn't the Goddess of the Moon and Stars laugh at her host's displeasure.

There was the gentle swishing of the fabric and the door to the library opened, warm sunlight spilled into the room piercing the darkness. Tawret, who was leaning against a silver cane, with some effort entered the room. "High Priestess, please sit down. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so fatigued today? My aura abilities must be off if I couldn't sense you've taken a sudden turn for the worst!"

The ancient woman whacked the girl gently with the tip of her cane, a slight rebuke for her loss of control. She was ancient not dying. "Child, I realize you are still young, but please don't lose your head. I simply overdid it today with my gift is all. I was talking with the other Councilmembers via astral projection, and merely used more energy then this old body is capable of at this time. I shall be fine with a little rest and relaxation."

Mage felt her face flush with embarrassment over her obvious misreading of the situation. Of course the High Priestess would need time to recuperate after using her gift for a substantial period of time. She prepared some honey and moon leaf tea handing the cup to the elderly lady. The High Priestess graciously took it sipping the blended potion regaining some color in her cheek.

Mage could feel Luna inside her bursting to speak of what she had learned, but Mage willed a wall between them. Now wasn't the time to start babbling away. "Are the other Councilmembers doing well?"

Tawret placed her teacup down on the table pondering her words. She traced the marks on her neck absentmindedly as she thought back to what her fellow Councilmembers had informed her of. Each of her astral projection talks had both good news and bad news. She didn't know what she should discuss first. At last she decided to get the good news out of the way.

As she delicately began to brush her long silvery hair she informed the goddess incarnate of what she had learned. "The others of our Covenant are doing well, their journeys have been unheeded and they have made contact with many of our sister and brother communities. Reconnecting with others of our kind has enriched all our lives. I didn't think that in my lifetime it would be possible for magic to be out in the open again."

"I know what you mean High Priestess. Luna's return has herald a new era of peace and love. Since the awakening of magic, many evils have been tamed or at least dropped in strength. The governments of the world seem ready to work for universal peace," Mage replied. Still the young lady could tell by Tawret's sobersided manner something was off. "There is bad news as well?"

Tawret inclined her head. Her slightly wrinkled hands picked up the book that Mage had been looking at moments before she had entered. It appeared that two girl had remembered a rule of magic; there are no coincidences in life, only destined moments. The switching of the Rexs was meant to be, but for what reason.

"It seems child you are aware of what my bad news is. I had Finalla and Marella, even Cian asked for help from the others to learn more about the items from the list Rex provided us. Bevin used one of her more extreme divination with smoke. Her vision was unsettling to say the least."

"I can see why, most of the Guilds they met are legal and good. The reason we couldn't find anything on the Ethereal Animals in our world was because we assumed they were a dark guild in their world, but neglected to confirm that. I should have thought of the story of Edoloas sooner, maybe then I would have found what we were searching for sooner," Mage whispered as she flipped the pages of the book.

The story of Edoloas was an ancient one from the time when Luna's people traveled the universe searching for worlds to aid in becoming connected with manna of the universe, thus being able to perform magic. The story went that there once was a world that almost a counterpart version of the Earth. Many of the people, places, and items were the same with minor differences. Upon discovering the nearby "Earthland" planet the people of Edoloas used a device powered by magical gems known as lacuriam to make contact. For many years there was peace as the two worlds shared in each other's bounty.

There was one big difference, Edoloaions couldn't store magic inside their bodies, only in objects. This limited the amount of magic that could be used. Soon there was almost no magic at all in their world. Jealous of the humans' ability to connect with magic inside themselves, several members of Edoloas, including its king, tried to steal the magic from the Earth leaving it to wither and die. But by forcefully taking it to implant inside themselves many of their own people were suffering. Seeing this tragedy the prince of Edoloas joined forces with Luna's people to reverse the process effectively sealing his world off from magic ever again until such time the people of the world learned to share it properly. The prince wrote a book containing the spells and rituals to be used at a proper time then hid it away in the magical dimensions.

The warning of the story was clear. As was the answer to how a world without almost no magic could produce high level mages, who had knowledge on how to restore magic to a world without it. What had most likely been one of the last true legal guilds of Rex Hayashi's world had turned dark thanks to their counterparts.

The book Mage had been reading came to life displaying a crest similar to the Ethereal Animals, only this one had flames eating the four animals. A voice narrated the text on the page.

_Of all the Dark Guilds to have been created before the purges, the Hellish Beasts were one of the most dangerous. Upon defeating their enemies during a job they would steal their magic or items to increase their own treasure trove of wealth. The members of this guild were unique as they were able to psychically awaken their connection any counterpart of themselves after performing the Ceremonial Ritual of the Mirrors of Truth, perhaps creating the mirror monster claims. The ultimate goal of the Hellish Beast was to gain unlimited access to the magical dimensions to rule for all time. This goal never came to pass for other mages/magical beings destroyed the items necessary before erasing the guild for good by alerting the purgers to their hidden location. Rumors persist that some of the guild's junior members might have survived the purges and are waiting for the right time to strike. _

When Mage opened her mouth to speak it was Luna's voice who was heard. "Since my return, magic has awaken all over the world. The level of power haven't been this high in ages. If the Hellish Beasts found a way to contact their counterparts in Rex Hayashi's world then…"

"Then this switch was no mere accident. Something evil is at foot. Both our worlds could be in serious danger," Tawret finished unhappily.

* * *

Across the divide of space and time, the small group had entered Van Kliess's private lab to see his data on space/time and magic. Tensions were running high as the two groups tried to play nice. Many of the residents of Abysus were still a bit resentful for being stuck in this pocket dimension for all eternity while others loved being safe. It was a tightrope that threatened to break at any time.

Breach was doing her best to keep the peace between the groups. While she may have turned on Van Kliess to aid the Gears, she had chosen to stay with him rather then be cured, which spoke volumes. At the moment she was trying to tell some jokes she heard, but it wasn't helping much.

Circe and Noah were eyeing Biowulf and Skalamander who returned the stares. Biowulf's claws kept clenching and unfurling while Skalamander had crystals growing out of his hand. Noah flexed his wrist ready to let loose a cable and Circe mouth was itching to be used.

"Knock it off all of you! I know we're not on friendly terms, but we are guests here. Unless you perceive an actual threat, I expect you to retrain your impulses," Six hissed into their ears. The two Gears relaxed a fraction, but refused to back down completely. That was okay with Six, they were in enemy territory.

Oblivious to the drama unfolding behind them Rex and Holiday had joined Van Kliess at his computer reviewing his data. Rex had placed himself directly in the middle to keep the two adults from attacking one another. The peace between them was tentative, he couldn't risk them attacking one another. All hope of getting to his time/reality would be lost.

"I'm impressed with the amount of research you've collected on this subject. It's well compiled and organized into easy to read documents and charts. Studies on cross time have always been difficult to conduct, so I'm astonished by how much you gathered," Rex said in a respectful tone. He was trying to relax his body to show submission to the EVO, but at the same time show his interest in the subject.

"Why thank you Rex, I'm pleased by your interest. The study of temporal mechanics and the physics and components of space are challenging subjects. It was working as an intern during my grad school days in lab that studied the phenomena. I figured a rudimentary understanding would help me with my dreams of integrating biotech. I actually helped develop and test theories on cross time."

"That's impressive! I know from my wife that there is one main timeline and that cross time are branches of the original timeline, created by either choices or environmental factors. What I didn't realize, but you discovered, is how many of these branches merge as the timelines weaken or collapse. Many of the cross times lines are so similar that a single incident can merge multiple ones together."

Van Kliess nodded and warm smile appearing on his face. He was pleased that Rex understood what he was talking about. "Well theorizing about cross time and finding proof of it was difficult. I had to put my research on hold when I joined the Nanite Project. Besides there wasn't a reason to come back to it until I met the delightful Breach. Her own unique mutation was a golden opportunity to pursue a more in depth understanding of space and time."

Holiday had to agree as she was reviewing previous experiments and videos on Breach. While she didn't agree with treating the poor girl like a test subject she grudgingly admitted that the results were phenomenal. As she watched in slow motion she started to understand how Breach's portals worked.

When Breach opened a portal she literally was ripping open a hole in the surrounding space, molecules, and elements, all of it. By opening this hole she was in a matter of speaking able to tunnel under the fabric of the universe pinging until she found another spot. By ripping a second hole she managed to connect the two by stretching the fabric, made from vertaron particles, then pinning them together. So far her portals only seem to connect to the reality she was in because she could only ping off of quantum particles that resonated the same with her. It appeared that Breach didn't know how to change her quantum signature so she couldn't ping a reality that was just out of phase with the one they were in.

"These experiments help us understand Breach's powers in greater detail. I assume your plans to expand her powers for time travel was to alter her ability to rip and pin vertaron particles, to doing the same thing with chronotron particles correct? Theoretically it could work on creating a portal through time, but it would be unstable since time is constantly in motion. Also her mind would have to be completely stable and focused entirely on where and when she wanted to go otherwise she could have ended up anywhere," Holiday said as she looked up at Breach who was shivering. The girl gave her a pleading look not to say what else could have happened if Van Kliess had failed in altering her powers. She could have lost her corporeal form, even died.

"Enough with the science jargon, have you found what you needed? You're wearing out you're welcome fast," Biowulf snarled.

"Watch your mouth wolfy or might shut it for you," Noah warned.

"Like to see you try human!"

"I'll make sure he doesn't miss!"

A loud ringing broke the group apart as they held their hands to their ears. Six brought his blades down to his side again, taking a step closer to his soldiers while Van Kliess stretched his gold hand gripping his lieutenant tightly, his fingers digging into his skin. "Manners Biowulf, I understand that you wish to defend me, but your alpha male posturing is causing problems. So please, calm your pilose hide down so we can accomplish our goals. Understood?"

Biowulf forced on his knees, face bowed in submission had to agree. Skalamander was doing a full kowtow to avoid getting in trouble. Six was lecturing Noah and Circe on their behavior. Once the punishment had been dealt with Rex tried to regain control of the situation. "So you've studied magic, why? Most scientists don't even acknowledge the possibility of magic."

Van Kliess placed his human hand on Rex's face stroking it. The familiar action calmed the boy down. "My dear boy, I'm not most people. I learned to never dismiss the possibility that the impossible was impossible. Too much evidence to the contrary shows magic must have been around long ago, real magic not pretend. You were brought to this world because a pathway was formed at the right time and place."

"Caesar and my counterpart's associate believed that by using mechanical means they could replicate the spell. In a way they can open a temporary portal, but the energies are not stable enough nor can conduct the precise manna levels properly. The only way to truly reverse the situation is discovering what energies can act as catalyst for the mirrors. With the right energy level, your spark of manna should be able to create a solid path, but it will take some time to discover what that is. I'm willing to work with you until we succeed. Once we isolate the right timeline we can figure out shift you mass through space via using manna pathway. Sound like a plan?"

Rex nodded and the others grudgingly had to agree. Putting aside their differences for now the next step would be figuring out if Van Kliess could deliver on his promise here in Abysus or would they have to figure a way to return him to Earth to keep his promise? Challenges indeed.

* * *

While the team in Abysus was working with Van Kliess to figure out a way to combine magic and science together, the Backups and their guardians had been dispatched to the home of the collector that the guild had attacked. After spending hours in the closet, the man had finally been able to free himself only to find most of his staff stone statues and his priceless collection ransacked.

The Backups were in their EVO forms with their body armor on. They could tell that the man was extremely anxious about their presence, but he wasn't about to anger their guardians, not if he wanted to keep his head.

"Exactly what was taken from your collection?" Cricket asked as she examined the broken hidden panel. Next to her and kneeling on the floor was Five studying the scuff marks on the floor, trying to figure out the movements of the guild members.

"Many rare one of kind priceless artifacts. I spent a nearly a fortune procuring a rare grimoire, two sets of keys rumored to have magical properties, along with some armor and a set of rings. Are you going to get my property back from those brutes?"

"We'll do what we can love, but those brutes as you call them, have plans for them. Shouldn't you be more worried about your staff? There living lawn statues for crying out loud," Five pointed at. She stood up clutching her guitar tightly. She found this collector annoying, but it wouldn't be a good idea to harm him.

The doors to the library opened letting in their associates. They had been checking on the security system and helping get the stoned people into a transport to hope. "Well, what have you got?"

"Oi, that security system is a doozy. It would be a challenge for a lesser being to defeat, but not for someone of our caliber," Trey remarked laughing a bit.

"They managed to circumvent most of the system, then take out the backups. One or more of them must have deactivated the secondary inside system so they be able steal without alerting the authorities. I found deep claw marks and scales in the security center. I'm guessing Faline and Brede were erasing evidence of their activities," Skywwd informed the group, his tentacles were twitching in annoyance at being outsmarted.

"According to the Haven agents they're detecting faint heartbeats underneath the stone shell. So they're alive, but in some kind of hibernation state. Hopefully, the doc can figure a way to help them with killing them," Tuck added, reassuring some of the group.

IV was quiet as he reviewed what they knew. According to their whiny host, his collection was so private, most others in his field didn't know what he had. The items stolen were rare, rumored to have magical properties, and very dangerous. The Guild was not only skilled in breaking and entering along with theft, they were well organized and deadly when pushed to shove. Those humanoid statues were an indication of how determined they were to achieve their objective.

"Was there any connection between the items stolen in this collection and the museums?" IV asked. Five shrugged and there was an air of uncertainty. Just because the items were from different places and ages, wasn't any guarantee they couldn't be used in the same ritual. They needed a break in the case if they were going to figure out exactly what the Guild's next move was.

* * *

In the other world, Rex and his party were about to leave for Providence when, an alarm sounded. The entire castle was flooded in blaring red light and a horn echoed across the land. "What's going on? What's that alarm?" Rex demanded as he created two builds, his BFS and Slam Cannon.

"That is the signal we're under attack! I'm connecting with the mainframe now trying to isolate the location of the attackers," Anya said, her implants connecting with the mainframe. Her mind was flooded with data as her partial mechanical brain sifted through the data. She found the security cameras that were posted in key areas along the border. Focusing her attention on one she brought it up on the main screen. "Here's our attackers."

Rex couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was the same group that attacked him in his world! What were they doing here?! He blinked his eyes, rubbing them, then blinked again. No, a closer look showed it wasn't the same group. Sure they almost looked the same, but there were small differences.

For one thing their clothes were black and silver while their crests was a flame engulfing their four animals. Also the members all had slight differences. Edan, had a scar going across his right eye, Odette's hair was shorter and wilder looking. Faline eyes were green instead of blue and Brede was barefoot with sharp nails. There was another big difference as he watched them take on the response team.

Edan "B" was covered in a plume of smoke, when he emerged he was wearing a form fitting armor with wings and a dozen swords levitating above his head. Pointing a battle-axe at the group he released his hovering arsenal. There was a sharp shink and blood splattered as the swords impaled several members of the response team, though the plant EVOs had done their best to shield them.

Odette "B" did a midair split kick, rolled over someone's shoulder before twisting a human responder's arm behind her back causing it to break. Two hellhound EVOs charged her ready to take her out. Smiling she whipped out a styler pen, writing in the air the word, "CAGE" before flinging it at the attackers. The second the word struck them they found themselves in a steel cage unable to escape. She laughed cruelly before writing more words in the air; TRAP, GAG, PAIN. Each time a word hit a target they experience the word.

Faline "B" had been busy as well. She had been collecting samples from the soil, blood from the fallen EVOs, even different pieces of their skin. When she heard guns drawn on her she didn't panic. From her waist band she pulled out a single black key. "Open the gate of the hunter, Orion!" There was a clicking sound and a shimmering doorway appeared. Out stepped a giant hunter with a sword, bow, and axe strapped to his back.

The responders took a step back as Orion pulled out his bow, lined up an arrow then let it loose. Almost all the police were pinned to the ground bloody and battered. As more EVOs appeared Faline opened the Gate of the Sea Monster having it handle the other EVOs as she continued her private mission.

Brede was creating giant ice sculptures and storms pushing back the forces. He had no qualm upsetting the balance of Abysus. Spying the incoming skimmer containing Van Kliess and the others he hurled an Ice Spear freezing it completely. The team bailed out trying to save themselves.

Van Kliess created a column of Earth to catch him. As he used the moving earth to maneuver him closer the four guild members linked hands. Before he could launch an attack they performed unison raid, successfully combining all their magical power into a single strike. The energy blast left everyone, save Circe and Rex, unconscious. They had combined her magic with his Block Party forming a protective barrier.

"Who are you people and why are you attacking Abysus? I demanded an explanation!" Circe shouted, her mouth already forming.

"Do you have anything to do with the Ethereal Animal Guild? Talk!" Rex demanded creating his Boogie Pack and Smack Hands.

"We don't have to answer to you High Priestess nor your mechanical friend. Suffix to say we've got what we came for and we'll be leaving now. But first a parting gift," Edan B stated. Snapping his fingers one of his swords spun around in arch nearly taking off their heads but shaving a single strand of hair from both. Clutching the prizes tightly he nodded to his guild mates.

Odette wrote the word wind, creating a gusty breeze that send Brede's ice shower all over the country blinding them. Faline summoned another being, it sounded like Andromeda and they vanished from sight. No one was sure what had occurred, or why they had come. One thing was clear. The counterparts had launched a preemptive strike that couldn't end well for the good guys.

* * *

At the Hellish Beasts Guild Building, which was hidden in a gully a few miles from Providence base, the members of the guild were happily looking over the spoils of their battle. Procuring samples from Abysus soil and EVOs played a major part in completing phase one of the plan. As soon as they could they would put into action phase two of the plan.

The group was enjoying a feast of rare cheeses, desiccant breads, and superb wine selections. They had earned it after all their hard work. They had spent the past six months preparing for the next phase in their plan. When Luna returned to the world merging with Mage as her host, it had unleashed a plentiful of manna all over the globe transforming the world. Magic users no longer had to hide their powers as they were slowly being accepted once more into main stream society. The different magical groups were being called into action once more.

The difficulty with magic once again being known is that it was much easier for it to be traced and policed by goody good groups. The Councilmembers of Haven had created a special task force for managing magical affairs causing a bit of strife for the dark magic users. If you wanted to remain undetected it was best not to draw attention to yourself by doing something big. Of course there were exceptions to every rule.

"Did you see the expression on that loser Van Kliess's face when we blasted him? I hope he was suffering greatly as he tried to free himself from the dirtball he ended up as ha ha," Faline "B" chuckled as she flipped her hair behind her head before reclining once more.

"I was more amused by the attempts of the so call High Priestess to prevent us from escaping. The girl has the power of the stars inside her and all she can do is put on a pathetic light show," Odette "B" replied smirking at the memory.

"Enough, we can celebrate our victory later. The alignment of the cosmos is just right. Mercury is in the fifth house and retrograde to Earth. As for Pluto it's ascending while Neptune is in the negative. Contact must be made while the energies can be collected," Edan "B" commanded. The guild mates nodded their heads.

Brede used his ice make to form a magic mirror as Odette used her styler to write words to absorb the cosmic energies. Faline used one of her keys to summon a celestial creature, this time a bear, so that Edan could use one of his swords stab the beast. It let loose a roar as its silvery red blood dripped on the mirror surface before it returned to its world.

The mirror flickered and pulsated. The smooth surface began to waver and soon the image of their counterparts appeared in the frame. Judging by their expressions they had also accomplished their half of phase one.

"You know, I'll never get use to seeing my double in the mirror. Even after everything that's happened, your group finding us and awakening our magic cores, giving us the totems to learn how to control our powers, and now working towards our goal, it's still strange," Brede "A" remarked off hand.

"Ah, but noble goal it is. Your group seeks to return magic to your time/reality and we wish to open the gateways to the magical dimensions, eventually gaining the power to enter other realities different from our core timeline. Together the eight of us will bring forth a new era of magic and life," Brede "B" reminded him.

"Have you completed phase one of the plan in your world?" Odette "B" asked. She helped up a small bag containing the spoils and several vials of potions they had created. "We've collected everything you'll need to purify the ritual site as well as offerings." She stroked the mirror slicing a small hole which she shoved the bag through.

Her counterpart quickly returned the favor as she managed to widen the hole long enough to send a small chest through. "As requested, the items you need to strengthen your power and perform the ritual on your side. We've kept our version of the Grimoire and the Regulus rings. You were right about their power to harmonize our cores unifying us into a single fighting force capable of performing unison raid attacks. Following your advice we stole items that could be used to prevent the completion of our ritual. Too bad the Golden Keys can only be used in the reality they're found in, but hopefully the silver ones will help."

"These will do nicely for the time being. Don't forget, we're on a time table. We need to start Phase Two, securing and purifying ritual sites. Until that is done we can't focus on preparing ourselves let alone Phase Three of the plan. Have you managed to get the Seelie Rulers Mirrors yet?" Faline "B" demanded anxiously. Her counterpart shook her head. The cat like girl snarled scratching deep marks in the icy surface. "Those Mirror are _essential_ to the ritual. You need to get them back."

"Don't fret, we have a plan on getting them back. The scientists and the little Gears won't be able to stop us. The only one who might prove a challenge would be the boy who was sent through. His aura is weak, but he does command a spark of earth," Faline responded.

"The boy is nothing, just as his counterpart is nothing. They may both have special gifts, but when faced with our power they'll wither under out boots. Stick with the plan and contact us again when you're ready for phase three clear?" Edan "B" asked in authoritative voice. His counterpart dipped his head letting him know they would speak to them once everything was in place. The conversation ended as the ice mirror shattered. A celebration would be taking place for both guilds as they worked towards their ultimate goal of reality domination of the magical world.


	5. Shards of Glass

After the disturbing attack on Abysus and hearing the story of Edoloas, it was clear that there was more going on then met the eyes. While they knew what the Ethereal Animals wanted, it was less clear what the Hellish Beasts hope to accomplish or how they even contacted their counterparts in the first place. It was all very disturbing.

Upon returning to Providence Circe had relieved a Captain Callan of his duty watching Eilonwy for her. Gathering up her happy daughter she brought her to the greenhouse once again. It was time to get back to her lessons on controlling her sparks.

When she got there she was surprised to find Rex waiting for her. He was taking a look at the different plants admiring their beauty. He looked up when he heard Eilonwy babbling. He flushed slightly as he put his hands in his pockets. "Um, I hope its okay I'm here. I heard that you were bringing your child here and I was wondering if I could be of some help. I don't know a lot about magic, but still I like to try and help if I can."

"New Rex help? Yippee sparks!" Eilonwy laughed, her sparks flying off her fingertips again. They landed on his face making him giggle as well. Circe smiled as she used her own magic to stop the giggle fit.

"I would appreciate any help you could give. Getting Eilonwy to concentrate on her lessons is difficult. After everything that's happened it more important than ever that she learn to defend herself. I don't want those mages anywhere near her," Circe replied kindly. She spread out a blanket placing her daughter on it. She got a few potted plants before resuming her previous lesson. It was hard to believe that only a few days had passed since then.

Eilonwy busied herself copying her mother. She loved making her mommy happy. It was all a big game to her as she tried to get her sparks to land in the different pots. She frowned when her sparks killed one of the plants. "No fun! Planty died, wha."

"Hey, don't cry, big girls don't cry. Here watch this," Rex said partially transforming his hands. Eilonwy stopped crying as she watched him do a little puppet show with his Block Party then switched to his other builds. She waved her hands cheering as he partially transformed different parts of his body putting on a show for her. "Your fwn! Me like you!" she said blowing him a kiss.

"That was certainly different," Circe said with a chuckle. "My Rex never did something like that. He can be a bit of prankster and has a weird sense of humor. You though are so good at simply bringing joy to someone."

He looked embarrassed by her words muttering it wasn't anything special. He coughed a bit looking away from the two of them. Sensing she might have made him uncomfortable Circe got back to the lesson. Kneeling down she created a starry shield in front of her composed of lots of tiny stars. She moved her hands all around sending a cascade of sparks all over the floor.

"Me next me next!" the toddler gangly got to her feet teetering a bit. Rex reached out to steady her, but Circe stopped him. The toddler had to learn to do it for herself. She gathered her energies, her little eyes narrowing as she cupped her hands. Little beads of sweat were starting to form as she focused.

At first nothing was happening, but then a milky form started to appear. It wobbled and faded then came back stronger then before. She was smiling as her shield become solid for a few seconds only for it to burst sending her down on her butt. "No, no, no. Starry star gone."

"Yes, starry star is gone, but you'll get it back. You were so amazing my little icon. You did so good, yes you did. Let's try it again." For the next hour the two teens encouraged her and cheered her on as she got better at controlling her sparks and doing specific things with them. After a time she started to get tired so Circe decided to put an end to the lesson. Leaving her daughter on the blanket she told her to play with her toys while she cleaned up the mess.

Rex was helping her put the plants back biting his lip. He had some questions, but he didn't want to accidentally offend Circe. The subject also might be touchy and he couldn't afford for her to clam up. "So, is it alright if I ask some questions?"

"Why not? Aren't questions important to learning more about something?" she asked sarcastically. She covered her mouth with a hand flushing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be sarcastic with you. I'm just use to my husband pestering me about questions after lessons that it can be exasperating."

"I know a bit about that, my brother Caesar is like that in a way. I'm just a bit confused about the magical aspect of this whole affair. According to you and Tawret there's no such thing as a coincidence when magic is at stake. After being attacked by the same group in another world I'm starting to get that. My question is; why did they attack, what they are going to do with the things they took, where are they now and when are they going to strike next."

The High Priestess in training bit her lip struggling with what to say. Her mentor and friend had some ideas of what could be happening, if their suspicions were correct then all their lives were in danger. "All I can say for certain is that the Hellish Beasts attacked us to weaken us. Magic and technology don't always mix, but when they do converge the results are unbelievable. By taking out our two leading experts in magic/tech fusion we've lost half our fighting force."

"As for what they're doing with the stuff they stole my best guess would be using the ingredients in potions for a ritual. By working with their counterparts both sides can collect what they need and trade. You be surprised how much easier it is to open small holes across time/space through mirrors for objects then people. Your guess for where they and when they attack next are as good as mine."

"But what do the Hellish Beasts want? They already have magic, how would a ritual meant to steal magic from other worlds help them? There must be more to this then meets the eye, but what?"

"Magic places! Portals to other Rexs, old friends! Mommy see Xwolin warriors? Kitty girl from yowng juswice come back?" Both teens jumped as they didn't hear Eilonwy walk over to them with her sparkly ball in her hands. "Old friends come back?"

"What is she talking about? Hey are you okay?! You look like you've seen a ghost. What is she talking about?" Rex demanded shaking Circe forcing her to look at him. Piecing together the toddler's broken speech he came to a startling conclusion. "I'm not first visitor from another reality you've met am I? I'm just the first from the same reality, but different timeline. The power to go to other realties, steal their magic or tech that is troubling."

"We can't let that happen, we have to find them and stop them before they succeed."

* * *

Suddenly alarms started going off, lights flashing, and White Knight's voice echoed through the halls. "Priority One Level 2 attack. I repeat Priority One Level 2 attack. All agents report to their stations. Get moving people, we don't have all day!"

The two teens rushed down the halls to the Central Command. Inside Six was already directing agents using the holographic map. On the main screen there was a video live streaming showing a large monster that seemed to have been pasted together. There was a long dragon tail and wings, with a goat head and horns on its back with a lion's head and body spewing fire from its mouth. People were running and screaming as it caused mayhem and destruction.

"What in the world? I thought you said that EVOs don't attack people anymore here. I thought that the symbiosis meant everyone was connected on some level here," Rex pointed out. "So what's going on here?"

"That's true young man, but this isn't an EVO despite its looks. It has no nanites in it all so it's not connected to my children in anyway," a voice said from behind him. Rex let out a yip as he spun around to see the Naniqueen's android form standing behind him. The android bowed her brown hair head as she adjusted her the pink collar on her power suit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I forgot that you aren't connected to us."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! Just give me a minute to get my heart rate under control." Her eyes widened as the sensor is them allowed her to watch him do just that via heat. He really had amazing control as he instructed his nanites on his heart to return the control back to normal. "Impressive, your control is beyond anything I've seen before."

"It's nothing special when you consider who my dad is. The priority was keeping my powers secret, so controlling my heart rate is second nature to me," Rex admitted sheepishly. He felt uncomfortable as Six and Holiday, along with a few agents joined him. "Um so if that isn't an EVO what is it?"

"It's a chimera, a mythical creature that's the unholy offspring of Typhoon and Echidna," Circe explained. She tapped a few keys isolating the creature and breaking it down into a three dimensional model labeling the different parts of the creature. "The monster is one of the most dangerous creatures ever to walk the earth. It hide is practically impervious to any sort of damage, the tail has enough power to crush a tank and its claws can slice through just about anything. Don't let its bulk fool you those wings make it one of the fastest creatures in the air and that goat head acts as warning system. The fire it breaths is almost a hot as the sun."

"That female mage, Faline right? She must have summoned the beast. This is not good, even if it's not an EVO it still looks like one. Relationships with EVOs is still very new and fragile. If this beast isn't stopped soon diplomatic relationships could be destroyed and Abysus sanctioned. The UN might even decide to bring back the idea for collaring or imprisoning EVO threats," Holiday told the group.

"We can't let that happen! I've worked too hard to let some stupid mage railroad me. We have to stop that monster now!"

"We will don't worry, Dad, I mean Six, if that's a summons can't we send it back or kill it?"

Six pushed up his sunglasses up releasing his swords. He knew there was one way to beat the beast. They had to make it eat molten lead so it would spread throughout its body then killing it. He gave the command for the agents to get the material needed as he rushed over to his jump jet. Rex was hot on his heels already donning his power suit. Circe had wanted to join them, but he told her to stay put. They couldn't risk losing her.

* * *

As they flew towards the beast a familiar comfort washed over Generator. He was in mission mode prepared to do whatever it took to stop this beast. It was no coincidence this creature was attacking. The Hellish Beast guild was either using it as a trap or distraction, at the very least weaken their forces further to prevent them from interfering later.

Six glanced over his shoulder at the boy. He was fiddling with his holocomputer watching the fight trying to come up with some counter strategies. He was totally focused on his mission, only occasionally breaking the silence as he responded to communications from base letting them know what was going on. This Rex approached danger differently, while their Rex had the same determination and grit, he wouldn't plan an attack out or take into consideration the amount damage he might cause.

"Approaching the battle zone. Get ready for deployment in five, four, three, two, one go!" Six hit a button opening the hatch. Putting the jet on auto pilot the two heroes shot into the air. After getting free from his harness he free felled for a few seconds before his hoverboard came out of nowhere. Landing gracefully on it he zipped through the air his katanas blocking the flames as he dove towards the underbelly of the chimera.

The chimera let out a screech flipping in mid-air. Claws racked the air tearing apart jets as its tail lashed out taking out the sides of buildings. A shower of debris started to fall towards the agents below. They were too busy firing weapons to notice only looking up as the shadows grew in size. "AHH!"

Someone zipped between them on what appeared to be a modified hoverboard. It was Generator using his Block Party to create force field to protect them. As chunks continued to fall he shot out his cable lines snagging the pieces. Using his enhanced strength he whipped them back at the creature striking its hide, but doing little damage.

His cowl analyzed the hits not seeing any damage he tried a different tactic. He landed on the side of the building using his claws and magnetic soles to climb up towards the top until he came upon a communication tower. Using his interface he redirected the dish pointing it at the beast. "Let's see how you like EMPs."

Six and a couple agents on hoverboards were trying to get snares around the chimera's legs or a muzzle on it so it stopped spewing fire. Every time they succeeded with one leg the beast would snap it apart. Doing a barrel roll the goat head started head butting its foes. "Drop back! Drop back! How soon until we get that molten lead I requested?"

"It's on its way, but our troops can't get close enough. The fire is making it too dangerous!" was the reply. The agent screamed as the tail smashed into him sending him torpedoed into the ground. Six leapt on top of the beast seconds before it could bite him in half. He tried to drive the katanas into its hide, but they couldn't pierce the skin.

"Not good. Where's that payload owwwwwww!" Six had to readjust his balance as the creature bulked thrashing in pain. Scanning the horizon he saw Generator on the tower aiming the dish at him. The chimera also saw him letting loose a roar as it flew towards its tormentor.

Generator used his glider wings and rocket boots to make a quick exit before activating his Boogie Pack. Flying in the air he called out to the beast. "Come on you overgrown kitty cat! Come get me!"

The chimera took off so fast that Six fell off. A grappling line shot out catching him and pulling him into Generators arm. "Da, I mean Six you okay?"

"Been better, what's your plan?"

"Leading it out of the city towards the desert. I ordered the payload to be ready. My biosensors indicate that the chimera is reaching its limit and so am I. I'll only get one shot at this. This is where you get off, don't move too much," Generator instructed as he placed Six in an electromagnetic force bubble dropping him into a tree.

The beast wouldn't be denied as it dive bombed the poor hero who only had a split second to react with his Bad Axes. He pushed back having trying to do damage, but unable to. His suit went crazy as fire grazed it causing it stitch it up. Forming his Funchucks he lit them up full blast.

Chimera went nuts fumbling in the air. Using the distraction Generator struck in the back. Avoiding the goat head he used his BFS to hack off a few feathers, which weren't impervious, causing it unable to stay airborne. The beast crash landed in the desert amongst a group of Providence tanks.

The agents fired an energy net zapping its strength further. The beast roared and struggled trying to break free. As the net grew tighter it used all its power to break free shooting flames, but that's what Generator wanted. After landing on the ground he loaded the molten lead into the Slam Cannon firing it. The beast let out a streak as the metal poured into its mouth invading its body. With a final whimper it vanished back to its realm before it could be killed.

Removing his cowl Rex assessed the damage. Many Providence sported long term injuries, their fighting force had been cut in half as well. The damage to the city would take hundreds if not thousands to repair. Worse, this attack would have recompressions down the line for his new friends. Whatever the Hellish Beasts had hoped to accomplish he feared they had done so.

* * *

In the parallel world the small group had been forced to return to Hope for the time being. It would take time for Van Kliess to develop a device that could be used to open a stable path through the mirror. He would need some components from the real world. Van Kliess grudgingly admitted he would also need Caesar's assistance to create the device, so he gave his design blueprints to Rex to give to his eccentric brother.

Upon returning to the real world Rex found himself engulfed in a hug. Startled he nearly fell over as someone whispered in his ears, _"Hermanito, estoy tan contento de verlos. ¿Le parece bien? Van Kliess no le hizo daño? Si dicho tercer laboratorio de hack en hacerle daño a usted de todos modos quisiera matarlo!"_

_ "César, yo estoy bien. Mi tío me refiero Van Kliess no me ha dolido. Usted no tiene que preocuparse acerca de mí como yo soy su hermano, no lo estoy."_

"Just because you're not my Rex, doesn't mean I don't worry about you. We all care about you if just gave us a chance you see that," Caesar said placing his hands on his shoulder and looking down at him with a smile. "I mean it, I'm not your brother obviously, but I still am in some way. So, what does Van Kliess need my help with?"

Rex handed over to him a CD with the information on it. Caesar put it into his computer watching as the technical schematics pop up on the screen. The design closely resembled his dimensional disruptor, but there were a few key differences. "So the hack wants me to repurpose my disruptor to not only emit vertaron particles, but chronotons as well. Does he have any idea how hard that is to do without blowing up the device?"

"I'm certain it will be a challenge for someone of your intellect," Holiday remarked off hand. She was reviewing that data she had been given on manna and how it reacted to items made from magical metals. She was going to run a few tests until she nailed the right manna energy output that caused the reaction with the mirrors. If they could turn the mirrors on with manna then use the gun to secure a pathway then maybe they could successfully switch the two Rexs.

As he watched his wife head to the lab to get to work on producing the right amount of manna, he got a call from Bobo. Apparently his siblings were back and wanted to talk with him. Dismissing the teens, he made his way to his siblings' private quarters. Out of the corner of his eye he say several agents arriving with stone statues knowing that they were connected.

Right before he entered Dos's quarters he spun around and snapped his wrist pressing his katana to Rex's throat startling the teen. The ground beneath them shook nearly splitting in two. "Don't do that! Geez, my agro nanny stopped threatening to kill me some time ago."

"Sorry, I thought you were with the others. Is there something you needed?" Six asked as he retracted the swords. He adjusted his sunglasses waiting for a response.

"I saw those statues knowing what they really were. Stonegaze victims who you're trying to help. I don't know if science can help, but I don't have enough magic to undo it myself. I'm not a real mage, just a guardian. Still, if the mages attacked someone, maybe I can help figure out what they're going to do next and put up a defense against them."

Six nodded at his logic and inclined his head indicating him to follow. The two of them entered the room where the rest of his siblings were sitting at a table arguing. They shut up once the two of them entered the room. Since they were all good at reading body language they knew that this Rex was not completely comfortable with them. He seemed to relax enough to work with them, but there wasn't any love being shared.

"So nice of you to join us love, starting to wonder if we scared you off Chico."

"Five, no respecting Spanish speaker appreciates that label so silence!"

"Oi Five is getting in trouble this time, which is nice."

"Trey be quiet please? I want to get through this meeting quickly."

The mercenary family settled down when Six cleared his throat. Putting aside their differences for now they told them what they had learned along with their kids at the mansion. They showed the insurance pictures to Rex asking if he knew anything more about the stolen items and what the Ethereal Animal Guild was after.

"The Grimoire of Hearts, a dangerous magical text containing some of the most powerful spells and rituals ever created. The Regulus Rings, able harmonize magic cores making unison raid spells easier. What's most curious is the Keys, they can't use them unless; I'm starting to piece together why I'm here," he whispered.

"Don't leave us hanging boy? If you have something to say then spit it out," Trey encouraged him.

"This world is almost out of magic, yet these mages are able to perform high level spells they couldn't learn on their own. Someone's been helping them over the years getting them ready for this ritual. It's not enough to steal magic and flood this world with it, to control all reality while picking and choosing which worlds you invade, that's a worthy goal. Those mirrors switched us because someone's been opening portals between the cross times for a while now."

"Then those mages, whether they be dark or light, will stop at nothing to complete the mission with their counterparts. We can assume that part one was to gather everything needed for the ritual while removing items that could stop them. What would phase two be?" Dos demanded.

"Rituals need specifics to work. The timing, the place, even items and offerings have to be exact. If those mirrors are key to performing the ritual in both worlds then we need to keep them under guard. My manna levels are back up, not enough for something big, but maybe a protection spell."

The Six looked at him confused. He had told them he had a small spark that allowed him limit manipulation of an element marking him as a guardian. They assumed he was using his triple layer nanites to manipulate the earth. To an extent that's what he was doing, but now he needed to merge science and magic together to protect the building.

Rex headed to the roof gathering his strength. He spoke to his nanite network asking them if it was possible to temporarily borrow power from nearby nanites. They sent an affirmation as he activated his network. The members of the Gears felt a sharp pain and their vision blurred as their nanites were tapped.

"What's going on? Why do I feel so weak?" Claire asked as Annie lifted her up. Nearby Beverly was squinting as her eyesight returned to normal. Noah was trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his back. Circe and the Backups had escaped the weird attack.

"That's really weird, hey what's going on out there?" Cree asked pointing out the windows. Lattices of earth were criss crossing the building glowing faintly yellow. For a second they were visible then vanished from sight. "Do you think Rex did something?"

"Let's go ask him," Tucker suggested.

* * *

Rex was just coming down the hallway when he was intercepted by the group. They were all looking at him with mixed expressions on their faces and their body language indicated they were not happy with them. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Exactly what were you up to out there? If you're going to do something to our base, you should at least have the common curtsey to inform us what you're doing," Claire pointed out to him.

"I already informed Six and his friends that I was planning on creating a defense from the mages. They have stolen several items that when used in a ritual it would be disastrous. I intend to keep us safe. I don't have much magical power so a protection lattice of earth is the best I can come up with."

"You know what your problem is? You think you have to do everything yourself, that you can't trust us because we're not the people your used to. Well guess what you're stuck with us ahhhhhhh!" Annie tripped over a crack in the floor. She took a tumble falling flat on her face. When she tried to get up her shoelace snagged on a vent causing her to fall backwards. "Oh, I hate this!"

Walter knelt down by his girlfriend untangling her shoelace. He then helped her to her feet asking if she was hurt and she waved him off. Watching them made Rex even sadder. Walter noticed his face. "What's the matter now? Does my counterpart not have a girlfriend or do I even exist in your world?"

"My old gang is part of the police force in Abysus where they help keep the peace. I can't stand this anymore. I want to go home."

"Well you can't go home right now and it's pretty selfish of you to be thinking about only yourself," Noah spat angrily. He ignored the look of astonishment plowing forward. He took a step forward grabbing the EVO's wrist and dragged him down the hall until they came to the lab. Inside several scientist were trying to undo the stonegaze. Dropping his wrist Noah turned his attention back to the boy.

"Do you see all these scientists? They're tired, hungry, and miss their families, but they're here trying to help these people. Ever since you arrived all of Hope has pulled double hours to come up with way to deal with the mages. We haven't forgotten about you and your desire to go home, we want our Rex back badly, but we can't ignore the problem at hand."

"Noah's right Rex, the Ethereal Animals are up to no good. The mission has to come first. Maybe if you would open up and trust us then we could solve this problem. You say you saved the world, well so did we from the Consortium. This team may not be Providence, but we kept them from crossing lines. We're heroes in our own right. We'll do whatever it takes to save the world so stop with the pity party and tell us what we need to know about the guild members," Beverly snapped as she slapped him upside the head.

As he tried to stop from seeing stars Rex admitted to himself they were right. He hadn't opened up or trusted them with many details. He'd given them the bare minimum while keeping to himself. His parents would be ashamed of how he was acting. Knowing them they probably had tried to help his counterpart deal with the stress of being separated from his family. If he learned anything in his life that only when people worked together did anything get done.

"I've acted pretty selfish haven't I? I was eager to get home I forgot my duty. It's going to take Un, I mean Van Kliess, and to find the right energy output and Caesar still needs to repurpose his gun so the particles merge together. Until then, we need to stop that ritual from happening. So what do you need from me?"

"For starters, you can tell us more about magic and how to counter it while we train. That is, after we get something to eat. I'm hungry," Cree suggested as they left the lab heading for the cafeteria to get some lunch. They were serving make your own tacos, something of a personal favorite for Rex. After creating three over stuffed delights he took a seat at the table. Taking a huge bite out of his meal he swallowed and wiped his face.

"Stop stalling already. We'll need an advantage if we're going to find a weakness in the guild. We know they need the mirrors to help them with the ritual and have reviewed the videos to understand their powers, but that's not enough. To win this fight we have to know everything about each other. So please share," Tucker said.

So that's what Rex Van Kliess did. His surroundings around him seem to fade away as he told them everything. He didn't even notice when everyone finished their meal and headed to the training ground. He kept talking and working with them as they trained together. At one point in the training he started giving them advice on how to avoid magical attacks.

"Every magic user is different. My experience is with witches and warlocks. They're magic is more elemental, but they have gifts and specialties. Mages only use one type of magic, something they're born with and can use items to increase their powers," Rex lectured.

Cracking his Blast Castor he wrapped the tentacle around Cricket's pike shocking her. Releasing her weapons shoved her legs into his diaphragm causing him to lose his breath control. Behind him Skywwd fired his crossbow only for a wall of earth to spring up reflexively. Rex created his Punk Busters smashing his feet causing a tremor. Skywwd tried to get away only to get his leg pinched in a fissure.

"Lesson two, almost all magic users use their powers instinctively to protect themselves. Its second nature for them to defend while attacking! You need to bypass that by either overpowering them or slipping under their guard!"

Tuck wrapped his bandages tightly around the EVO boy only for him to burst free with his Rex Ride. He zoomed at him as Tuck flipped side rolled over him slashing with his fire and water wheels. The boy pulled back avoiding the attack. Forming his Slam Cannon he fired. App dragged him to the floor as Chaos took him by surprise by slamming him in the right with her Taser.

Before he could react Spyder pressed her tonfas to his throat daring him to attack. "How's that?"

"Good, but now you're in my danger range. Magic users have limits to how far their powers can work. Don't get in close unless you're absolutely certain you can disarm them. Take away any amplifiers so their levels drop. Once their weakened turn their powers against them or exhaust them until they can't use them? Everyone get it? Then let's go again, the guild will strike when we're the least prepared!" Rex commanded. The others nodded in sweaty pleasure. Finally they were working as a team.

* * *

Back with Rex Hayashi a different sort of bonding was taking place. After such a big fight everyone needed some downtime. With nothing new on the Hellish Beasts and no progress being made into finding a way home for him, he decided to enjoy a family dinner with the group. They had invited not only his "family", but Noah and his sister Noelani, along with of course Six, Holiday, and Bobo.

It was a pot luck dinner where everyone brought their favorite foods to eat. Bobo had brought some caviar and upside pineapple banana cake for desert. Holiday brought a mixed vegetable dish along with some olive oil. Noah and his sister had brought spaghetti covered in a delightful sauce. Six had brought the drinks ranging from wine to chocolate milk. The Willa, Kancau, and Ron brought some slices of roast. Circe with Rex's help had whipped up fresh bread. It was going to be a wonderful meal indeed.

"This looks wonderful, a true feast. I always enjoyed family night at home. Mom would cook the only meal she knew and Dad would play video games with me. We usually also would watch a movie," Rex explained to the group.

"You mean Ms. Holiday actually can cook in your world? That's….a….laugh cough cough," Noalani said. The fourteen year old giggle was having a difficult time breathing. Her brother helped her with her adjust her oxygen flow. Ever since the nanites had achieved symbiosis many of her medical problems had been fixed. She no longer needed a wheelchair to assist her getting around and her immune system had gotten stronger, but she still required extra oxygen at times and got fatigued often.

"Why does everyone make fun of my cooking?" Holiday muttered as her husband whispered comfort in her ear. "I can't help it that I'm better at scientific study then baking."

"Don't get upset Quintessa, cooking is an art, not for everyone. Why don't we say the blessing and get down to sharing this wonderful meal?" Willa suggested. She allowed her husband to pull out her chair then scolded Ron for not washing his hands.

Circe was the one saying the blessing. "Thank you for the bounty before us Mother Goddess. We thank you for your love and promise to give thrice to others. In your name we give thanks. Let's eat. Eilonwy stop that! I'll help you with your food if you just give me a second."

Eilonwy was trying to eat both her spaghetti and meat at the same time. She batted away her mom's hand wanting to do it herself only to receive a gentle smack for her behavior. She pouted, "No, want Rexy! He help!"

Circe let out a sigh of frustration. She was tired and in no mood for a fussy child. She had spent two and half hours assuring the President that the Chimera hadn't been an EVO attack on the US. She would still have to placate the UN to avoid having sanctions brought up on Abysus. That was after talking with Haven about how to prepare herself further from the Guild. She needed a relaxing meal.

"Hey, let me help her. It's no big deal. Hey Eilonwy here's some yummy veggies. Why don't you try them? Hmm these taste good. You want to try some? There you go good girl. Let's see about that spaghetti oh!" Eilonwy accidentally knocked her bowl over on him covering him in noodles and meat sauce.

"That's a good look for you. Very attractive don't you think Noah?" Ron joked.

"Yeah, the sauce really brings out the color of your eyes," Noah laughed.

"Boys, that's enough! Why don't you go clean yourself up? We'll handle the spill. Bobo, can you get some rags?" Six asked. When the chimp made no move to do what he was asked Six kicked the chair out from under him.

"Sheesh I'm going already. This isn't in my contract you know," he muttered. He got the rags and cleaner in his hands. Using his feet he cleaned up the spill and wiped it up. He felt like a servant, but he really didn't mind. The rest of the meal was conduct in peace.

The hominess made Rex feel safe and secure, but he knew that underneath the laughter and joy, tensions were running high. The Chimera attack was a warning of dark times to come. The guilds were no longer stealing which indicated they were on the next phase of their plan. He feared what that would mean for his new friends in this world and how his family back home would deal with the danger.

* * *

Across the divide the Ethereal Animal guild was busy preparing their site for the upcoming ritual. Finding a spot secluded enough to perform the ritual, but large enough to accommodate their needs was a challenge. Also the requirements for the ritual space were hard to come by, but finally they found a place that met their specifications.

In a grassy glade about fifteen miles outside of the city the guild was doing preparations. In the north were the mountains, to the east was valley full of breezes, to the southeast was the city, (quintessences) and to southwest were natural gas reserves (fire) and to the west was a lake. At each point they had buried a loadstone then placed a magic staff with an orb on it. The loadstone tapped into the nearby ley lines channeling their energy through the staff into the orb which would send the magical energies to the glades connecting the elemental powers together.

Throughout the area they had placed protective amulets to ward off attacks. At the altar site they Odette and Faline were preparing the altar with the ritual items, including the chalice, anthame and candles. Brede was injecting the nanites into the soil as Edan prepped the other items they stole for storing magic before they redistributed it at their discretion.

"We should thank our counterparts for these manna infused nanites along with the EVO materials potions they obtained. Without them we couldn't have purified the area so quickly. I've checked the weather, the moon will be full and the sky clear," Brede remarked as he stood up dusting the dirt and grass off his clothes.

"Excellent, the timing will be perfect. In three nights time the veil between the two worlds will be thin enough for us to perform the ritual. All we need is the mirrors and a sacrifice. How are the rest of the preparations coming along?"

"All is well, we have everything we need. Our counterparts should already be finishing preparation on their side. Once the sites our finished is up to us to move on to phase three," Odette commented.

"Yes, connecting our worlds and performing the ritual side by side. Once begun we can't stop. Soon all our work will pay off, Magic will once again run free and we'll have access to countless worlds. Unity, power, glory all for us!" Faline stated with glee. All of them looked excited at the prospect as they got ready to take back what was theirs.


	6. Enchanted Acessory

The Hellish Beasts were busy with their own preparations for the upcoming ritual. In three days' time the goal their guild had been aiming for centuries would be complete. The total domination of multiple magical realities would be theirs.

At the moment Faline B was taking a break from preparations to use her IPad to follow the news feed on the "EVO" attack. Normally, she wasn't one to use modern tech, but in this case she was willing to make an exception. She was laughing at the utter destruction that her summons had caused earlier. She watched with joy in her eyes as the beast decimated Providence troops. "Our little plan has succeeded reaping us spoils that we couldn't have foreseen. Not only did we succeed in our initial goal, we've finally have a complete picture of how this new Rex's power work and his fighting style."

Brede B came up behind her, kissing her neck and playing with her hair. The ice maker was shoved back by an annoyed Faline B. Now wasn't the time for romance. Pressing his hand to stomach he created an ice pack to ease the soreness. "Dang woman, are you trying to kill me?"

"Please, I didn't hurt you that bad. Honestly you're acting like a big baby."

Brede B just rolled his eyes before taking a seat next to her on the fallen log. At this stage of preparations they could afford to let their guard down for a few minutes in his opinion. "You don't have to be so violent my lady. After all, it's as you said, we have figured out what makes our enemy ticks. Even without him linked to the world wide symbiosis he's been a challenge, but now we know his weakness."

Faline tapped her chin with a single finger, her green eyes were partially closed giving her a coy look as she responded, and "His will is the key. As long as he's got the will to fight nothing can stop him. This Rex is a formidable forced to be reckoned with. Still, I'm confident we have enough magical talent to deal with him."

The conversation was interrupted when both Odette B and Edan B appeared. They had just finished securing the ritual site with Odette B leaving behind several word traps to catch anyone who accidentally stumbled across the elemental points. Edan B also had used some of the new weaponry their counterparts provided for his own version of deadly traps. The two lovers held hands as they looked at their fellow guild mates with unreadable expressions.

"Are you done fooling around? Now isn't the time for compliancy. Even in their weakened state Providence isn't one to give up the fight so easily. They will be ruthless in their attempts to prevent us from achieving our ultimate goal," Odette B reminded them harshly. Noticing the tech she snatched it out the girl's hand holding it as if was a diseased specimen. "Ugh, why are using this monstrosity."

Faline B's quick reflexes snatched the device back. Sticking out her tongue her fingers zipped across the touch screen. Selecting an article she blew it up to full screen adjusting the sound.

"_Reviewing the top story tonight; there is still much confusion and chaos from the attack of a wild EVO today. The monstrosity rampaged for over an hour costing thousands in property damage and injuring at least fifty civilians. Thankfully no one lost their lives. As you can see from the footage Providence was helpless as they struggled to bring down the EVO. Thanks to the quick thinking of Providence secret weapon and some new tech they managed to contain the creature. However the EVO vanished before it could be destroyed causing many government officials wondering if the creature was in fact an EVO. Both President Van Kliess and the Abysus Ambassador released statements disavowing any connection to the today's events. According to these statements the EVO was in fact a real chimera. Though skeptical at these claims; with the reemergence of magic to this world and the representatives of Haven backing the claim, officials must take this claim under consideration. As of now no official sanctions have been brought against either Abysus or Haven, but that could change very soon. Stay tuned for updates on this situation." _

Faline B turned the device off leaning against Brede B, who maneuvered his bare feet so his claws didn't scratch her skin. "As you can see, the world is so busy trying to make sense of our attack they're divided. Without a unite front and their allies under scrutiny we'll be able to finish phase three without any complications."

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves. Phase three is the most dangerous part of the plan. Our counterparts will have to disable their own version of Providence before they can carry out their part of phase three," Odette B pointed out, her lips thin. Using her styler she wrote up a comfortable couch for both her and Edan B to settle in. She pulled out their mirror watching it ripple.

Unbeknownst to the Ethereal Animals the group was being observed. The Hellish Beasts observed them as their counterparts argued about their battle plans. The guild couldn't come to a consensus about what to do so Edan B decided to take over. He focused his attention on his counterpart using his psychic connection to send a sharp mental jab giving him a serious migraine.

The Ethereal Animals gathered around their leader asking him if he was okay only to let out screams of pain as they also came under assault by similar attacks. Their totems glowed brightly as their gods/goddess swaddled them in their protective embrace dispelling the spell. As the magical protection vanished the guild realized they were under watch.

Edan glared hatefully at the reflection of his counterpart. "Was that truly necessary? You could have gotten our attention another way!" His screaming lost much of its volume as it traversed the worlds so it didn't have his intend effect. If anything his counterpart looked annoyed at him.

"Please, you are a mage, you can deal with a little pain. Why are you still arguing about battle plans? You should have already been in place to strike at Providence disabling them. Once they're out of the way nothing can stop you from carrying out phase three of the plan."

"Providence isn't the great enemy in our world as it is in yours. Yes, they could be trouble, but shouldn't we be concentrating our attack on Hope? They're the ones with the mirrors and Gears. We have reason to suspect they could be getting assistance from that annoying pest Van Kliess to assist them into undoing the accidental transfer."

Edan B dismissed their claims with a wave of his hands. "Hope will fall, but only after you take care of their allies. Without Providence backing them up their threat potential is minimal. Besides you'll be delivering them a crippling blow when you carry out phase three so stop dragging your feet. If you're worried about the supposed King of EVOs, then use our bag of tricks to take him out of the equation. Time is running out. Everything must be ready for the ritual! So get going!"

With a wave of hand the mirror returned to normal. Hopefully their counterparts got the message. They hadn't put this much time and effort in bringing up their skill level for the plan to fall apart now. One way or another the ritual would take place!

* * *

White Knight was not in a good mood as he listened to the latest reports coming into his office. Since Six's brat had performed his massive cure and taken out his bosses, things had drastically changed for Providence. Sure they still studied the effects of nanites and continued to police the world for EVO trouble, but considering the lack of enemies their budget had been seriously cut. Many of their resources had been designated for other purposes.

The old man didn't like it. His instincts were screaming at him that something big was going to happen. He'd been following the reports he got from both his troops and Hope about this so called magical guild mission. He didn't believe in magic at all. To him the punk group was stirring up trouble and it was up to him to put an end to it.

He was just about to call Captain Callan for a report when the alarms started blaring and the emergency protection protocols automatically engaged. The whole building rattled as the power started to flicker in an out. White Knight felt a chill run down his spine as the protective glass in his office started to crack. He barely got into his suit before the glass burst. He dove and rolled out of the way to avoid being crushed by the collapsing ceiling.

He blasted his way down the corridor keeping an eye out for trouble. He finally ran into Callan who was giving commands to the troops. "What's going on here captain? What caused the emergency protocols to activate?"

"Sir! A few minutes ago an unidentified creature entered our air space. Before we could analyze it or blow it out of the sky it released a payload that was alive. As we speak it's blowing its way through our defenses! Our men were just about to engage it when ahhhhh!" Captain Callan and his men went down as a high pitched wailing filled the building.

White Knight spun around shooting his laser only for it to seemingly pass through his target. Odette, in her banshee take over form, smirked as she unleashed another devastating wail calling for the souls of the fallen soldiers. "Your suit can only protect you for so long human. My takeover form makes me immune to your primitive weapons."

"Then let's see how you handle a punch to the face!" White Knight snarled pulling his fist back then smacking her in the face. The unexpected attack struck her in the jaw crushing it. Odette's take over form vanished as she reverted to her regular form. White Knight tried to grab her throat to subdue her, but her totem lit up forming a protective shield.

"You think you can harm the champion of Brahma? My god has healed me and now you will pay!" The female mage shouted as she entered her half human half animal state. Her Regulus ring flashed and she pulled out a magical artifact from her pocket. It was on.

While this was happening the other members of the guild continued their assault. Edan was storming the building in his half boar state using his magic to bring the building down upon itself. In the garage a snake-like Brede was tearing apart the vehicles while turning several soldiers into stone statues. It was in the lab that Faline encounter resistance.

The cat girl let out a yowl as she danced out of the way of weapons fire. She nimbly cartwheeled out the way pushing off with her hands into the air where her feet hooked a light fixture. Swinging around she did two aerial somersaults before lashing out with her lighting fast reflexes smashing Rylander's gun before spinning around to claw part of Meechum's shirt off. She purred in delight swishing her tail.

"Is that all you got? I was expecting more from men of your caliber, but then again scholars are poor fighters."

"Just because we're scientists doesn't mean we can't take you on," Rylander warned. He slammed his hand on a button as security droids shot up from the floor and out of the ceiling. "Let's see how you handled that girl!"

Faline let out a giggle. "At least give me a challenge!" Gathering up her magical energies she synched her magic with her beloved, feeling him approaching her. Her guild mark pulsed as she released the bold of energy disintegrating the droids in one big swoop. The two men could only watch in disbelief before she slammed their heads together knocking them out. "To easy."

"Don't get cocky, more troops are coming. We need to get out of here and soon. Did you get the samples or the data we need yet?" Brede hissed as she slithered into the room reverting to his human form. He cocked his head as if hearing something. "Edan and Odette are nearly finished. They'll meet us at the reindaview point in two minutes."

"Understood, you get the samples, I'll handle the data." The two mages scurried to secure the items. Brede extracted samples of past EVOs and unstable nanites quickly placing them in a magical bag. Faline managed to get the data. The two of them were on their way out when they were stopped dead in their tracks by a group of soldiers.

"Halt! You two are not going anywhere! Prepare to be detain ow!" A unison raid attack from behind took them all out as monstrous crash struck them all. The four guild mates smiled at one another as they jumped out of a hole in the side of the building. Skidding down the slope of the gorge they leapt into a waiting car driving away leaving Providence in shambles. All in all their mission had been a success.

* * *

The next day Rex Van Kliess skipped school along with Circe and Noah. The attack on Providence only confirmed Rex's suspicions that the enemy was nearing their endgame by taking out anyone who could stop them. The security tapes he retrieved with his powers were not encouraging at all.

The trio was hiding behind a large oak tree just outside the public library waiting for their pickup. Circe and Noah were on edge as they kept glancing around expecting a truant officer to show up at any time to haul them away. Noah was the most upset about being forced to skip school knowing his GPA would suffer. "How did I let you talk me into this? My parents are going to freak out when they learn I skipped school."

"You think your parents are bad? I just know that Dos is going to skin me alive for this. Ever since he became my new guardian he's acting like an overprotective father. He finds out about this and grounding won't even begin to explain how much trouble I'm in," Circe countered shuddering at the thought.

Rex rolled his eyes. "The fate of two worlds, possibly even an entire multiverse is in jeopardy and you're worried about missing a single day of school? You should get your priorities straight."

Before the two friends could respond there was the distinct sound of leaves crunching coming towards them. The group tensed then relaxed as Caesar appeared carrying a gym bag. His expression was a mix of excitement and disapproval. Rex was taken aback by the feelings stirring up inside him as he realized the other man's expression hurt him.

"For the record, I don't approve of skipping school no matter what the circumstances. I also want to say the idea of going to visit that third-rate lab hack unarmed after an attack makes me even more nervous. I am not looking forward to working with the man who is responsible for so much heartbreak and destruction," Caesar emphasized with them. The trio looked away from him not wanting to see the shame on his face. Caesar was about to continue his little speech when a red portal scooped them all up before dropping them into the lab.

The group was trying to detangle themselves when they heard footsteps coming over to them. Biowulf and Skalamander forcefully separated them as Breach dusted them off. "Sorry about the rough landing friends. Shiny said it was urgent that we see you."

Van Kliess emerged from the shadows of his lab to greet his guests. "Yes, Breach was kind enough to open a pinhole portal to allow us Internet access. I read up on the attack on Providence. It sounds like your enemies are growing in confidence."

"It's more then that Unc, I mean, Lord Van Kliess. My instincts are telling me that they are almost ready to carry out their agenda. With the dimensional keys they are a threat to everyone including your people here. As of now, they haven't made a play for the Seelie Mirrors, but it's only a matter of time. I was hoping you made some progress on your project."

Van Kliess crooked a gold finger beckoning them to follow. The small group fell into procession, but kept their wits about them. On the far side of the lab Van Kliess had set up a testing site complete with mirrors, scanning equipment, and stand for Caesar's device. The man in question was mildly impressed by what he saw. "Impressive. You managed to construct a stable mount for the gun as well as a connecting power source."

"You don't have to be so modest Caesar, tell me how you really feel. I haven't been dragging my heels like you."

"Excuse me hack, but do you think it's easy to redesign a disruptor to emit two types of particles without causing a feedback loop that could destroy the device? Not to mention it was rather hard to come across the proper components I needed to shield people from the effects of the gun."

"Will you two stop bashing one another already? We came here because we wanted to see if the disruptor gun could be integrated with your tech. Have you made any progress in locating the proper timeline or figuring out the correct energy output to activate the mirrors?" Noah demanded. Next to him Circe was already preparing to use her mouth to force cooperation between the two. Even Rex looked like he was ready to create a build.

"No need to get so defensive, we've done our part. Master was able to isolate the exact force of energy needed to activate the mirrors," Biowulf huffed.

"Yeah, not to mention he's figured a way out to ping for the right timeline/space," Skalamander added.

"I helped a lot! He used my powers to experiment on locking onto quantum signatures before altering them, but he can't open the pathway or keep it stable without Caesar's device or Shiny's powers."

"Yes, through a lot of trial and error I managed to use a test mirror to figure out much of the problem, but had no real way to ensure success without Caesar's help. Also I was unable to determine if the environmental conditions created by living in this pocket dimension were having an adverse effect. I believe we should perform this test in the real world."

"You're not getting back to Earth anytime soon so can we please get on with this?" Circe asked. The group waited with bated breath as the disruptor was mounted to the stand. Activating the power source Van Kliess instructed Rex to send a low level manna charge through a port. Rex followed his instructions watching in delight as his manna merged the two particles into single beam of power. Striking the test mirror it glowed and rippled indicating a transport spell was in effect.

Rex was so excited! If this worked here he could use it on the mirrors to get home or even force a closure of pathways with it. He could stop the two guilds before they had a chance to carry out their ritual. Everything was going to be okay! He was about to inform the group when something caused him to freeze. To the horror of everyone he clutched his side sinking to the floor in pain. His eyes glowed and his body had lines with manna appearing on his body. He moaned in agony.

"REX! Little brother what's wrong? Are you okay? Did the device hurt you? Speak to me what is happening."

"Haven…in…danger. Mage and Luna… under attack," Rex whispered before blacking out leaving everyone to wonder what he meant by that.

* * *

Indeed Haven was under attack. The Guardians, lead by Aherin, were doing their best to defend their homeland. Their spark of manna had long since dwindled as the assault on their home passed the twenty minute mark. Still, their honor and duty to their home wouldn't allow them to retreat.

"Fight on men! He's just a mage! We can ahhhh!" Aherin was cut off as a flying dagger embedded itself in his gut. The Guardian tried to remove the accursed weapon only for it to dig deeper into his body as it twisted. Blood was squirting all over the grass.

All around him his troops were dodging, deflecting, and countering the barrage of flying weapons. Up in the sky laughing at the torture below was Edan B. The leader of the Hellish Beasts had reequipped himself in the Demonic Torture Armor. The armor was midnight black with blood-red trim and bat like wings allowing him to fly. He carried a flaming halberd spinning it around with glee. There was an audible pop followed by a plume of smoke as more weapons appeared in the air. Using telekinesis he aimed his deadly barrage before sending it flying into his targets.

Many of the Guardians were impaled with only a few managing to find cover. Edan B blew past them striking down the survivors with his flaming weapon. He did a split kick followed up by a fast strike with his weapon. He used the pole of his weapon to defend himself as he came under attack only to blast his foes with fire. "You Guardians think you're so high and mighty because of your sparks, but the truth is your nothing compared to the true power of a mage!"

"At least we have honor unlike your putrid guild! You shame all magic users with your evil intentions!" Aherin shouted. He had torn the dagger out of his gut, ignoring the pouring blood, he charged forward to fight to the end to defend his home.

In the heart of the city Brede B was having the time of his life as he used his twisted imagination to form different ice makes. Creating several ice disks he flung them in multiple directions. Upon contact with a building or person they shatter coating the target in a thick layer of ice. As he strolled down the main avenue ice spread from his feet traveling all over the town causing the temperature to drop. "This is the most fun I've had in ages! I shall bring about a new ice age and once this place is covered in ice, I'll claim its magic for myself!"

Brede B was knocked off his feet as the land responded to his words. The earth shook breaking free of his ice. The flora came to life as the trees, flowers, and grass tried to kill him. He skillfully dodged only for the buildings to attack. Fabric from the balconies, doors shooting their knobs, even windows exploding. It was total chaos as Brede fought back determined to win this fight.

Inside the Temple, Tawret found herself fighting against both Odette B and Faline B. Even with the use of her astral projection ability she was struggling against the two as her old age caught up with her. Both versions of her shot a stream of stars at the two mages only for them to flip out of the way. Odette B whipped her styler around forming the words explosion, broken, and slash.

The astral projection gracefully slid between the real Tawret absorbing the words before vanishing. Tawret stumbled backwards steadying herself by grabbing onto a pillar. Her eyes darkened as cupped her hands together gathering manna. With a burst a steady beam struck the female mage in the gut sending her crashing through a wall.

Odette B managed to soften her landing by writing the words feathers and pillows. Using her styler she suspended her words into the air mixing them together coming up with a new words; wasps, hill, fear. With a flick of her wrist the style released the words at the High Priestess. The stinging wasps circled the woman descending upon her as she brought up a star shield to protect herself. The wasps bounced off only for the hill to crush the shield. The word fear touched her, but Tawret vanished revealing another astral projection.

Odette B closed her eyes sensing for the old woman. Feeling a strong pull of manna she spun around stabbing Tawret in the leg. "Your age is catching up to you witch! There's no way you can stop us."

"Don't mistake my age for weakness. I have much more experience dealing with dueling then you do."

Faline B laughed at her morality. "Who said we're dueling? Open the gate of the stellar crane, Grus!" An oval shaped door appeared bursting open in shower of feathers as giant crane appeared. With a caw the monster attacked with its beak intending to separate the High Priestess and her head. Seconds before the beak struck an intense black aura surrounded the beast causing it to return to its realm. Before the mage could counter a portal opened under her feet with slimy tentacles reaching out. The mage backed away as the different phases of the moon whirled around her. "Show yourself!"

Moonlight shined as Mage appeared. Her entire body glowed with the power of a goddess. Ignoring the protests of Tawret to return to safety of the inner sanctum the girl brandished a scroll. "You're not the only summoner in the world!" Mage/Luna stated as different animals popped off the scroll. A medium size toad with armor, a snake wearing a feather necklace, and a slug with a diamond appeared. "I refuse to let you steal what I/she brought to our world. Attack my summons!"

"As if I'm intimated by your summons. I open the gates of the moon rabbit, the gallant unicorn, and the clever fox. Come forth Lepus, Monceros, and Vulpecula!" Several doors appears as the stellar animals emerged. A giant pale milky rabbit hopped out kicking at the toad as it spat its poisonous tongue at the hare. A beautiful unicorn charged forwards as the snake lashed out with its fangs. The fox used its large tail to flip the slug over.

As the summons fought their mistress had engaged in hand to hand combat. Faline B had coated her body with manna making her strikes hurt more. Mage tossed the girl over her shoulder spinning around with a high kick. Faline B grabbed her foot twisting it, but Mage broke free coming at with her nails. Faline brushed the hand aside attacking with a powerful burst of energy.

"Why would you and your guild do this? The gift of manna should be shared with all, not hoarded for your own personal use. My people granted this gift to improve your lives. I never wanted it to be used for conquests!" Luna said as she took control of Mage's body.

"Then you're a greater fool then I anticipated. The only thing that matters is power! We will rule the dimensions with an iron fist. Using you in our ritual with ensure the success of both guilds! I summon the racer of the skies; come forth Auriga the Charioteer!"

Mage/Luna tried to stop the summons, but the mage's power was being boosted by her friend, who had written the words power up. A roman charioteer with a whip snapping appeared. Mage tried to control its aura to send it back, but found herself powerless as Odette B whipped out the words weak and tired. The two words hit their targets as the charioteer captured Mage/Luna. Using the cloud cover of the vanishing summons the Hellish Beasts retreated with their prize. Tomorrow night phase three would take place!

* * *

The next day across the divide a state of fear had gripped the staff of Hope. Not only did they have to worry about the Ethereal Animals showing up for the mirrors, Van Kliess and his Pack were here as well. While Rex Van Kliess was unable to fully undo the nanite reaction that kept the king of EVOs in Abysus's pocket dimension, he could use his own powers to allow temporary access to the real world. For how long was anyone's guess.

At the moment, they were all in the lab. Caesar, Holiday were with Van Kliess to install his system into the lab. Beverly was at the computer prepping the sequence for the system. Rex along with Circe and Noah, were preparing the mirrors for the procedure. Clair and Annie, in combination with the Pack, were securing the lab. The Backups had opted to stand guard throughout the facility with their guardians and Bobo. If the Ethereal Animals showed up they would use all their power to prevent them from taking the mirrors.

Six watched his wife as she ran through a final systems check with Caesar. The two of them were in synch, but he could tell they weren't completely confident that this would work. "How much longer until you're able to activate the device?"

"Ten to fifteen minutes. This is a delicate procedure Six. Not only do we have to amalgamate the different systems together we need to set up the safety systems so there's no danger to anyone. That's after my sister has finished with the systems check. Van Kliess, have you finished rerouting the extra power from the generators?"

"My dear, I've been done with that for a while. I've been working on modifying the scanner to work in the real world. I hope that the emitter will be able to alter the quantum signature at the same rate of the particle beam," Van Kliess said with an exaggerated sigh. He leaned over to check Caesar's work as he finished with the amalgamating of two devices. "Are you finished yet Caesar? I would have expected someone of your caliber to be done by now."

Caesar gave him a dirty look. "Just get ready to turn on the device hack. Is everything ready little brother?"

"The mirrors are ready for use. I've used my manna to link them together so that they amplify the device's power. Time is of the essences. We need to get me home so I can seal the pathway from being used. The two guilds need them to so they work together to complete their dark ritual. I'm determined to stop them."

"Don't worry Rex, everything will be fine," Circe said.

"Yeah, those mages won't even get close to this lab. Beverly, is everything is ready?" Annie asked.

"Systems primed, data entered, powering up device. Everything's good to go. How's security?"

"No sign of any trouble right now. We'll continue patrolling. Just get this shindig on the road. I don't want be caught with my fur down," Bobo responded.

Everyone was standing by as the device powered up. The emitter beeped and flashed as it scanned the one the mirrors. There was a humming as the disruptor gun started to mix the particles. Rex put his hand on the port getting ready to add his manna. That's when the trouble started.

A thick purplish fog appeared out of nowhere blanketing the building. It forced open the windows, pushed through cracks in the doors and filtered through the vents. As it filled the rooms the staff started to get really sleepy. Their eyes drooped and they started yawning. Within seconds they were asleep on the floor.

Upon seeing the fog Rex sprouted his Boogie Pack. He aimed his turbines at the fog trying to push it back. "That's a Sleeping Draught! If it touches us we'll sleep for a week straight!"

"Activating lockdown mode! The quarantine procedures should protect us," Claire shouted slapping her hand on a black button on the wall. Hidden vacuums started sucking up the fog as barriers started coming down all over the lab. Biowulf, Skalamander and Breach were caught in the barrier closer to the door. The others managed to squeeze into the section of the lab nearest the mirrors.

Six tapped his ear comm. "This is Agent Six, I need a status report. Is anyone still awake? Anyone? Answer me now."

"Not now brother! We've got our hands full! Trey, Dos stop! Wrap them up tight Tuck!" IV's voice echoed through the comlink. There was a faint sound of music being heard through the link. "We're in trouble here!"

"IV, talk to me. What's going on?" There was a crackle and hiss. For a few minutes there was silence then the comlink turned back on. But it wasn't IV talking.

"Sorry about that love, IV and Tuck are trying to restrain Dos. My own dear protégée is doing her best not to kill Skywwd. I don't know how to explain it, but our friends just started attacking us! They got this creepy faraway look on their faces and watch it you bloke! Man Trey, don't you feel anything? Do I have to rip you a new chord?" Five demanded.

Rex, using his nanites, had hacked the link and heard that music. Startled he started to issue commands. "It's the music turning them into trancelings! The guild is using hypnotic instruments to control them! You need to either destroy the source of the music or play a different tune to free them! Keep playing your own chords and covering your ears to avoid being turned!" The comlink started smoking as Six through it out of his ear before it exploded.

The former mercenary straightened his tie as he shifted his sunglasses. The enemy was using strike tactics to take them out to avoid a fight they might lose. Who knew what else they were capable of? He got his swords ready to defend his family. "Do you have your power suits or weapons on you?"

The kids nodded pulling the icons out of their pockets. They placed them on their chest, but when they tried to activate them nothing happened. Shock was seen in their eyes. They kept pressing them, but nothing happened. Holiday and Caesar took a closer look.

"I can't see anything wrong with them. I don't know why they wouldn't be working," Holiday muttered.

"I could try to reboot them?" Caesar suggested. He reached for his tools when Van Kliess slapped is hand away. He was about to demand an explanation when he saw the man's golden hand rusting away. In fact all around them the tech was starting to turn off or fizzle out. _"¿Qué en el mundo? Alguien mejor darme una explicación ahora!"_

"Iron magic, I didn't think they would have it! They must traded with their counterparts for it," Rex hissed smashing his hands together.

"_¿Cómo podría magia hacer algo como esto?"_

"Yeah, I thought magic and tech didn't go together," Annie said.

Rex looked exasperated as he flung his hands in the air in frustration. "In recent years as people imagine more advance tech it mixed with the magical ether found between the realms creating new magic. It's not exactly rare, but hard to control. Their counterparts must have collected it and bottled it. There's no counter that I know about."

"Great, now what do we do?" Noah whined. No one knew what to say when the doors to lab burst open. In walked the four mages looking extremely confident. The Pack attacked only for them to pass right through them!

Before they could figure out what was going on they were hit by a potion. A crystal cocoon of sorts formed around them keeping them from attacking. The lockdown was gone leaving a clear path for them. The Gears sprang into action to defend the mirrors.

"I won't let you take these mirrors!" Rex snarled forming his Blast Caster and Punk Busters. They fell apart as the iron magic touched them. Clenching his fist he got ready to use his spark. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Van Kliess also getting ready.

"We don't have time for this. The night is approaching. We need to make the final preparations. Ethereal Animals together!" Edan instructed. The four members pulled out four glowing circles. Two of them were white and the others black. They started to expand as ancient symbols appeared in their center.

Before the Gears or Six could react the circles flew into the air spinning around growing in size. They bypassed their attempts to avoid them latching onto the floor. Runes appeared crawling all over the lab and up their bodies. Before they could react a magical charge flew through their bodies zapping them of all their strengths. They fell to the ground unconscious. No one saw the rings wrap themselves around Rex levitating him out of the room as the mages used their totems power to help them take off with the mirrors. They also stole the disruptor gun and mount. By the time the group managed to wake up they were long gone as night approached.

* * *

That night crisp autumn winds blew across the land. The few dark clouds scattered as the moonlight poured into the ritual site. The Ethereal Animal guild marks were pulsating as they started to draw power from their unconscious captive. The Black Circles suppressed his manna while the White Circles kept his other powers in check.

Upon entering the sacred circle the mages got to work positioning several crystals in a small semi-circle around Titania's Mirror. Brede and Faline were casting protective spells and increasing the wards powers as Odette finished setting up the altar. Edan was also mentally preparing himself for the task ahead.

Phase Three of the plan was the most difficult, but vital part of the entire plan. They had stolen the device for this precise purpose. Because they were low on manna in the world they would use the device to transport one of the mirrors to their counterparts having anchored it to Rex's life force.

The boy was chained to Titania's Mirror hanging lifeless. Faline was working on the device calibrating it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Edan using a smaller hand mirror to contact the Hellish Beast. With the moon just starting to rise and with midnight hours away now was the time to act.

"Can you operative the device without complication? Even with everything we've done to ensure a successful ritual bad luck has a way of finding us," Brede cautioned.

"We're lucky that villain Van Kliess and the Gears had everything up and running. All we need to do is attach the power source to the boy then open the portal. Hopefully he's got enough stored because sending a fully active Seelie Mirror is difficult," Faline responded.

"He's starting to stir. I can't keep the Circles powered for much longer," Odette warned, her totem was losing its glow as her body began to succumb to efforts of maintaining the devices by herself.

"Our counterpart's are ready to receive the mirror. They're own captive is in place ready to be used for our purposes. At last the night we have dreamed of is upon us. A new age of magic has begun!" Edan declared loudly, his voice echoing across the land.

His voice awoke Rex, who was confused by his surroundings. As he tried to clear his head he felt a charge go throughout his body. His hand felt like it was on fire as the port dug into his skin. Against his will his spark was being drained out of him powering up the device.

He let out a scream as his manna circulated through the dimensional/disruptor causing the emitter to lock onto the unique quantum/chrono signature. Once pinpointed the disruptor fired a beam of vertaron and chronotron particles using the manna to bind them together into one energized beam. It struck Oberon's Mirror, the reflection showing the reverse world. On the opposite side the Hellish Beasts watched in anticipation.

Oberon's Mirror dissolved the reconstructed itself in the other world. As it formed Mage/Luna found herself chained to the enchanted accessory with the crystals being used to anchor the two timelines together. As the captives screamed in agony the two Guilds smiled darkly. The time for the ritual had begun!


	7. Cursed Luck

The two guilds were ignoring the screams of their captives as they used their life forces to power the mirrors. As long as the mirrors were active they could complete their dark ritual. The captives tried to stop their manna from being stolen, but they couldn't resist the pull of the crystals. They were in a lot of pain with no end in sight.

"You ahhhh won't get away ahhhhhh with this! Ah I'll stop you ahhhhh somehow!" Rex vowed. He was struggling to break the chains that held him. No matter how hard he tugged he couldn't budge them let alone break them. As pain coursed through his body he attempted to form a build, but nothing happened. He just couldn't do anything.

"Silence child! You will not interrupt what we have spent months trying to accomplish! Soon all our hard work will pay off!" Faline snarled as she increased to flow of power. Rex let out another scream as his spark fizzled out. The beam increased in size getting wider. Oberon's Mirror fully formed in the other world as the beam changed color from magenta to purple surrounding the mirrors. The metal seemed to come alive. Symbols appeared on frame of the mirror before scrolling into the air. The air shimmered and pulsed as something bluish white appeared in its place.

"The Veil of the Realms! At last it's visible!" Brede exclaimed. It was this Veil that not only kept cross time apart, but more importantly, the multiverse from intersecting on top of one another. At certain times of the year the strength of the Veil weakened enough for portals to form. This is what the two guilds had waited for. If they could use the power of the mirrors to widen the portals enough, then the Veil might shatter allowing the flow of magic to return to this world via allowing access to the multiverse for the other.

Odette checked their celestial clock. The moon was striking the dial in just the right spot as the stars on it lit up. The energies of the universe were coming together to break the seal on the Veil. "It's time to begin! We must break the seal first if we are to accept the magic in our world."

Edan nodded already opening the Grimoire of Hearts. He started to chant in unknown language. Behind him the rest of his guild mates were using their Regulus Rings to increase their magical core power then transfer it to him. Edan felt his own core grow filling him with much needed energy.

Lighting the candles he then pricked his finger with the anathema as his blood dripped into the chalice. The elixir inside shimmered changing from white to pink. Holding the chalice high into the air he call force the powers of the elements. From the five points of the ritual sight the orbs started to radiated as the elements funneled themselves through the staff. As the power gathered in the orb they started to transmit their power towards the ritual site.

Rex squinted his eyes as he watched in disbelief as the power swirled in a spiral above him before coming to rest in the chalice. A small burst of energy spilled out of the cup. Edan raised the elixir into the air before tossing the mixture on the Veil. It shimmered and wavered. Cracks started to appear before chunks fell off revealing small swirling portals. "The Veil is thinning. I'll keep the spell going until the seal is gone. Just get ready to send us the magic. Ethereal Animals stand by!"

As the Veil started to break about the Hellish Beasts started their first part of the ritual as Mage/Luna pleaded with them to stop. "For the sake of all life in anytime and anyplace, I beg of you to stop. You'll create imbalance that could destroy both timelines, possibly even the multiverse! Don't you understand that?"

"It's a risk we're willing to take to achieve our dreams. You can't stop us so pipe down and accept your fate! The Goddess of the Moon revived magic, now she can be used to restore it to our counterparts!" Brede B laughed. Around the ritual site the four of them had combined their powers to form a magical cistern. They started chanting calling upon the elements themselves.

"NO! NO YOU CAN'T! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mage/Luna screamed. All over the planet she felt the elements sweeping across draining the world of its precious magic. The elements circled depositing their load into the cistern before going off to fetch more.

"We've collected enough for the first load. Who wants to do the honors?" Edan B asked laughing manically.

"Allow me my love. After all I have a way with words," Odette B laughed kissing him passionately on the lips. Taking the cistern she approached the chained girl. She enjoyed the site of the goddess incarnate trying to free herself only to inflict damage on her as her magic turned against her. "Don't be so stubborn. You brought the magic to our world, now you can send it somewhere else."

"The Veil is still up and the seal not broken! I don't care how many portals you open, I won't be used to direct the power to a world that isn't ready for the gift of manna!" Mage/Luna shouted. The two were starting fuse even more as their features blended together.

"You don't have a choice in the matter! _Cum inferno, terra, aqua, aeris thy bondage with ether. I postera manna penatrata Oberon. Goddess amplyfia release thy power!" _Odette enchanted. The cistern in her hand light up as she poured the contents on Mage's body. Oberon's Mirror activated, the reflection showing the other world. Powerless to stop it, the manna passed through her body amplified tenfold, as it was released into the other world.

Rex felt as if his whole body was being burnt, buried, drowned, suffocated and drained as the same time. The magic exited through the different parts of his body as Titania's Mirror released its gift. By passing through his body the stolen magic acclimated to this world so it didn't spark out because of the seal still in place. Rex twisted his body and kicked in pain as Brede used an ancient Egyptian wand to direct the trickle of magic. Odette and Faline collected the magic in special containers for later. Edan continued to speak, continuously calling forth the elements, pouring them on different sections of the Veil cutting portals into them.

Suddenly a strange symbol appeared in the sky. It looked like a delicate pink crystal wrapped in silver with ancient elemental symbols circling it. It was the seal that was keeping a majority of the magic from passing through to their world. Raising his anathema he chanted a dark spell before piercing the seal. It was a struggle as the seal tried to resist being broken, but the darkness wouldn't give up. With a final thrust the seal was gone and the Veil dissipated into nothing. Without the Veil or its seal the magic could flow uncontrollably through the mirrors drastically altering both worlds!

* * *

The Ethereal Animals were in awe as they watched the flow of magic transform the ritual site around them. The trees started to grow taller as a rows of flowers popped up from the ground. The air started to become cleaner as lights appeared in the night sky. This was what they had hoped for.

"It's so amazing and wonderful isn't it? I never dreamed I would see such a thing in my life. Can't you feel it? The world is changing all around us," Faline declared, giggling madly as she sucked up more magic into a bottle.

Odette nodded her head as the wind blew through her hair making it shine. Her hand brushed through the streams of manna feeling the power enrich her. She twirled her hand wrapping manna around it. With a flick of her wrist she sent the manna far out of the ritual circle. She sensed, rather than saw, the manna strike a passing hare. The critter made a sound as it hopped high into the air, its coat changing color. "Truly this is a dream come true."

"We can't lose focus now just because the magic is unrestricted! We must start to direct the flow all over the planet," Brede warned them. This was the tricky part of the ritual, infusing the manna all over the world. It had to be done carefully so that the Earth didn't reject it. "Edan," he called out, "Are you ready for the next part?"

The Guild Master nodded as he returned to the altar. Setting the chalice down to the side he slide a small relic to the center. It was an ancient globe on a small quartz pedestal, one of the items they had stolen. Pressing certain countries in sequence the globe lit up and levitate into the air. A hologram appeared in the air above the globe showing the modern version as a tether of manna from the South Pole connected with the quartz crystal. Satisfied with the result Edan turned a page in the Grimoire as he scanned the text.

_"Accipiet benedictionem a veteribus tellus. Redit ad ista quondam in sinum tuum. Restitue in hunc mundum venenatis. Dicant hoc munere dignus, nexum cum vos renovare. Egressus justo saeculi semel et revertatur;"_

As soon as he finished the spell the manna output increased coming not only out of the mirror but the air where the Veil once stood. Brede used his wand to direct the flow of the magic to the relic. The relic crooned as it absorbed the flow of manna directing through both poles. The quartz base palpitated expanding. The quarts acted like an amplifier to help spread the magic across the globe. As they watched the hologram they could see the manna oozing all over as it returned to the world.

All around the world, cataclysmal changes were occurring, just as they had in Rex Van Kliess's world when magic returned in full force. The earth was restoring itself to its former glory. Mountains sprang up, the ocean swelled, as brief wildfires burned across the world. Windstorms of great magnitude blew across several countries removing anything that was invasive. At the same time the metal is several cities started to buckle and transform into new shapes. Ice started to form at the poles spreading out as lightning blew out electricity. Hearty forests grew over towns replacing them as gravity increased and decreased altering geography. Darkness and light were replacing each other at random intervals. Lastly, the quintessence of all living beings was being affected. All across the masses as panic set in many found themselves in state of shock. Those with dormant cores appeared to be having seizures as magic awakened in them. Those without cores found themselves struggling to handle the flow magic as it rapidly changed them or drove them to the brink.

If the Ethereal Animals had zoomed in on the map they would have seen the changes as well. Perhaps they might have reduced the flow rate or halted in their actions, but they didn't. They were seized by the occasion. Only Rex knew how out of control this was as he watched the spread continue. "Please, you don't know what you're doing! This world isn't ready for the return of this much manna! The seal was in place for a reason. Without it or the Veil our worlds might merge as one, or worse, cease to exist at all!"

"Silence! You will not ruin out moment of triumph," Faline snapped raking her claws over his chest. "Our counterparts have down their part by restoring the magic to this world. Now we shall return the favor, opening the doorways to other magical dimensions thus leading to the multiverse!"

The other guild members nodded as Faline pulled out the golden keys. She approached the mirror. Rex knew what she was going to do and he was powerless to stop it. Brede and Odette had used their totems powers to further restrain him as she pressed the clavicle to the mirror surface twisting it as she chanted. "I open the door to halls that lead to all dimensions. Open the pathway to my counterpart so she may cross the thresholds of the worlds!"

* * *

In the other world the Hellish Beasts waited with bated breath as single keyhole appeared in the mirror above Mage's head. A golden shaft of light shot out as the keyhole turned. There was an audible click and the sound of a door opening. As the golden light swept above Mage's head she watched in horror as a large spiral staircase with hundreds of doors and pathway formed in front of them.

Without prompting Brede B and Odette B went to work. Using a unison raid attack they created an icy tower to contain the doorways. Faline B reached into the mirror with her left hand and held out her right. The Golden Keys of the Dimensions started to form in her right hand. Her body glisten as she recited the lost spell to fully activate the power of the keys. _"Latum ad mensuram fores! Sit cuneis via inter limina esse in loco. Totam unam potentiam tuam. Utamur nostra potestate. Ego præcipio tibi obedire votis meis!" _

The doorways started to unlock opening wide as black wedges kept them from closing. Swirling portals of different colors appeared at the threshold slowly changing into solid paths. Edan B smiled as he used his telekinesis to send droves of magical swords through the portals. In all the worlds they embedded deep into the very fabric of time/space before they started to transmit the power back to the Hellish Beasts. Their crests glowed as they felt their newfound power entered their bodies. The link between the two counterparts strengthen.

"This is what our guild has dreamed of for centuries. Once the worlds merge as one, our counterparts and we shall be supreme rulers! Nothing can stop us from taking over the multiverse!" Edan B cackled. His counterpart was making the same claim.

Just then two identical voices replied. "Are you certain of that?" before a load and unbearable scream was heard shattering the concentration of both guilds and temporarily halting the ritual. Both guilds picked themselves up to see who had attacked the. Standing before them on both sides were the friends and family of their captive victims ready to fight it out to save the multiverse.

* * *

The Ethereal Animals were shocked that the Gears had managed to bypass their wards until they spied Breach and Van Kliess standing to the right of the Gears. To the left were Six, Holiday, and Caesar. The Backups along with Biowulf and Skalamander were nowhere to be seen. The two sides glared at one another neither making a move until finally Edan snapped, "How are you even here? The Black and White Circles should have left you unconscious for days!"

"You be surprised how resilient one can be, especially after living in a pocket dimension for a time. It also helps to have Breach on your side," Van Kliess chortled. A few minutes after the Ethereal Animals had left she had instinctively opened a portal to her pocket world. EVOs with healing abilities had slithered out tending to them.

"Stop what you're doing and surrender the boy. Give us back our tech and we'll take you in peacefully," Six demanded in his calm and controlled voice. Next to him he noticed his wife and pseudo son alter the settings on their weapons to heavy stun. They didn't want to kill anyone, just stop them from continuing this ritual.

"You're joking if you think we're going to give up. Look around you? Can't you feel the Earth singing its thanks? We have brought back what was stolen long ago. Thanks to us magic will never die out again! Our counterparts are mere minutes away from securing the doors to the multiverse! We'll never give up now!" Brede shouted in response. The overflow of magic was acting like a drug giving them the ultimate high.

Odette frowned as she scanned the glade for the others. She was about to question them when she felt the elemental points come under attack. The ring around the ritual site started to fade. The others looked up at alarm. Though they had completed the part of the ritual requiring the elemental elixir, they still needed the five points of magic to keep the ritual site pure and powered. If they lost the points the ritual would cease. She turned towards the two scientists who were looking a bit too smug in her opinion. "What did you two do?"

"Thanks to Rex, we knew that your five points were the key to your ritual. As we speak, our missing members are attacking the points, battling their way through your wards and traps. Once they take those out your ritual will be over," Holiday answered coolly.

"If you think they can't then you don't know how tenacious I am. I've spent the better part of two weeks getting up to speed on magic/tech infusion. My alterations to their armor and nanites will give them the edge they need."

"That is if we don't take you out first!" Wingman declared. He pulled out his long-range laser. He lined up a shot and squeezed the trigger aiming for the chains that bound Rex. At speeds even faster than before Faline intercept the shot doing a perfect ballet twist sending the shot wide. "This could be harder than I thought."

"You have no idea what you're messing with! Thanks to our counterparts our powers have increased beyond our wild imaginations! No magic spell is beyond our ability to cast. We can meet any energy payment needed. Edan! Call us up some back up," she hissed

"It would be my pleasure," Edan said as his magic book flew open to right spell page. Raising his hand he waved it around gathering all the magic he needed. "_ Nekaew ron erit taht su fo senolc derewoprepus fo ymra na etaerc" _Each member of the guild shimmered as several copies of them unfolded from them like a chain of paper dolls. Each of them had the same powers and none of the weakness of the originals. "They mustn't stop the ritual. I'll send some aid to protect our points. In the meantime destroy them!"

It was a blitz attack as the army of clones descended upon the Gears and their allies. They all soon found themselves separated as they fought for their lives. As the Gears began to fight the clones Six and Van Kliess rushed the originals to stop the ritual while Holiday and Caesar tried to push their way to Rex to save him.

* * *

Spyder found herself under attack by small army of Odette's clones. A few of them had used takeover magic to transform into a harpy, naga, and a smack of big cats. Others shot magic bolts at her. She twirled her tonfas around deflecting and striking down the bolts. She was knocked flat on her back as two tigers jumped on her. It was only because of her biomuscle amplification she was able to fling them off her.

She jetted into the air expanding her glider wings as the harpy chased after. She spun around firing her cables. The clone grabbed them pulling the girl towards her before punching her in the face. The sensors in her power suit were telling her that she had suffered a serious blow. She struggled to get up only for the naga to wrap its snake like tail around her legs trying to crush them. Flexing her hands she turned them to claws digging them deep into the clone's skin. Blood poured out as she ripped the tail in half. "I'm not about to become snake food no matter what happens! I will stop you."

"We shall see little girl!"

Somehow App and Chaos had wound up together fighting a mix of clones from all the different groups. Never had they been more thankful for the special weave and proofing that went into the suits. These clones were supercharged giving them new abilities.

Brede's clone could now shoot different elements out of his eyes. Chaos found herself under attack as a giant waterspout formed around her. Her suit adapted to the change in pressure keeping the gelid water from zapping her strength. Her emergency oxygen allowed her to breathe as she used her full spectrum to look for a weak spot. Spotting a weak point she swam over letting her natural clumsiness cause her to hit a riptide that accidentally sent her flying out of the spot as she smashed into the clone knocking him out. She dropped and rolled out of the way using her sweeping arms movements to tap the clones so their attacks barely missed her. "App, how are you holding up over there?"

App didn't respond right away. She bent backwards pivoting on her foot before ducking under an attack. She grabbed Edan's clones by the arm pulling them behind her. She brought up her hands to protect her face as she was under attack. She felt the suit respond to the torn section as it fixed itself. Reaching into her medpack she pulled out a syringe stabbing it into a clone arm injecting him with a sedative. His eyes rolled back as he slumped. "Could be better, uh this army never ends!"

"We can't give up no matter what happens!"

Siren pulled out her rope dart smacking in through the air. She jumped to avoid a pillar of magic coming at her. Remembering her lessons she kept moving using hooked hands and bent legs to attack her foes. Wrapping the rope dart around her target she dug the rings into her target weakening, but not stopping her target. Adjusting the frequency of her scream she unleashed a powerful wail. Again the clones halted in their tracks, but refused to disappear. Forming her force bubble she let the enemy attack trying to analyze them for a weakness. "Has anyone figured out how to undo this clone spell or stop them?"

"Negative! They never tire or weaken! Even those we taken out of the fight recover almost instantly. I'm more concerned about the ritual taking place! The flow of magic hasn't decreased and my Wi-Fi link just updated me. Things are getting worse worldwide!" Wingman informed her through the communicator. He did a double kick, a right hook followed by a left uppercut. He dove to the right to avoid being smashed by the crash magic of a clone.

Another clone was coming his way as he reached into his survival pack. He pulled out a flash grenade activating it. He flung it into the fray of half human half animals charging him. The bomb went off blinding the boar men and causing a rise in heat in the snake ones causing them difficulty in movement. Taking advantage of their instincts gone wild he powered in using his knife to draw blood. "I need a status update on all teams! Report!"

"Kinda busy at the moment Wingman can't really talk!" Cricket shouted. She was multitasking as she used her mental commands to order her nanite armor to increase its coverage. She wobbled on her hoverboard as she flew over the wards avoiding them. The magic in the air was making it difficult to use her transport. As she neared the orb for wind she was flung off her ride. She was sent spinning right towards a tree.

She pulled out her pike shoving its spike into the side of the tree as she slid down the tree. She felt her mind starting to scramble as she dislodged a protective amulet. The item burned to touch as she flung it away. "Vid link please! Show me the others at their points!"

A small red screen covered her right eye. As she looked on the vid link was very static as the audio was nearly nonexistent. The other Backups were in similar situation, using their weapons and skills to bypass wards. She couldn't see what was happening with Biowulf and Skalamander, but bet they were in the same situation. Switching links she saw how much trouble the other Gears were in. Six and Van Kliess hadn't managed to land a hit yet on the originals as they called forth more dark spells to protect them. Caesar and Holiday were stuck in the mud being pulled down mere feet from Rex who was calling out advice. If they were having this much trouble on this side of the fight she wondered how those in the parallel world were doing against the Hellish Beasts.

* * *

On the other side of the mirror one would could describe the situation the heroes found themselves in; that word would be chaos. The Hellish Beast were caught slightly off guard by the unexpected arrival of the mix of Providence, Haven, and Abysus forces. They had thought they had managed to disable them for good, but they had underestimated Rex's skills and the determination of everyone else.

The Guild was in a tight situation. Faline B couldn't really move until she had finished forming the gateways to the multiverse and the others were still adjusting to the new flow of power from the dimensions they had already accessed. The three Councilmembers from Haven; Aoife, Oriana, and Moya knew that and were determined to close those Gateways.

As they got ready to fight, the mages launched the first attack. Unable to move properly Faline B decide to use her talents to summon spirits from other worlds to do her bidding. A ghostly army of demonic spirits came to life. With a twitch of her nose the spirits went after the three witches.

Brede B went after Six, Holiday, and her sister. She, along with Anya/Seven of Nine, Van Kliess, along with a few select EVOs and androids has risked sanctions to come and help. At the moment the EVOs and androids were protecting the Van Kliess', Noah, and Bobo as they tried to avoid death by stopping those points.

"Look out sis!" Ulani shouted, shoving her twin to the ground just as an ice lance skewed the place where her head had been moments ago. Both sisters started firing their weapons at the ice wielder. Brede B formed a thick ice shield protecting himself from the attack. Twisting the shield around him removed sections of it sending ice bombs at them.

The twin sisters had to roll out of the way the spring to their feet. Holiday grabbed her twin's wrist dragging her in a zigzag pattern hoping to avoid being struck. Ulani let out yelp as she nearly slipped on the frozen ground. As she tried to steady herself, Brede B lined up a shot. His connection to the gateways already opened allowed him access to newfound power. Summoning a powerful toxic poison he injected into the ice. He got ready to launch his attack killing the girls in one final strike.

That's when the third member of the group seemed to appear out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, not only had Six managed to destroy his toxic weapon, he had lacerated the mage's chest and arms. From his spars with Aoife he knew how important arms were for magic. His expression didn't change as he saw something unreal happening at the wound sites.

"You've just made big mistake human! My entire body is frozen inside and out. Now you've unleashed my full power," Brede B chortled as ice blood oozed out of his wounds. Upon hitting the air it turned into a whirling storm of snow and hail encompassing the ninja man. Six was on the defensive as he tried his best to slash, deflect, cut, and remove any obstacles in his way.

Seeing her husband in trouble, Holiday flipped the setting on her weapon to fire mode. "Kaori, I'm going to try something risky so be ready," she shouted over the wind storm.

"Been ready Quintessa, just do it!" A plume of fire erupted merging with the magical storm. For a few seconds it felt like he was being burned alive while being frozen, but soon the fire won and Six managed to leap out of danger. After kissing his wife in thanks they rejoined the fight with Ulani, who had been doing hand to hand against their foe.

Van Kliess and his beloved found themselves in a mess against Odette B. The girl could write faster than a computer could process. He had formed a protective wall of earth around them pushing it forward as they gained ground. Submerging his golden prosthetic into the ground he tapped a root taking control.

A large, prehensile root broke out of the ground, followed by a second and then a third. They slammed the ground trying to crush her. They mage wasn't impressed as she wrote the words; cut, saw, slice. Her words came to life making mincemeat of the roots. "Is that the best you got? I thought you were King of the EVOs," she challenged him.

"We thought you were smarter than you looked!" Seven of Nine responded. She had left the protection of the wall holding up her bionic leg. With a few modifications she managed to shoot her cable into an iron tight bolo pinning the girl's arm to her side causing her to drop the styler. "Not so tough without your main weapon are you?"

"I thought you knew never to rely on one technique in battle," Odette B replied. She stood up as a green aura formed around her. "Digital Deletion!" A criss crossing of binary code etched itself on the coil causing it to vanish. "Surprised? Even with the gateways partially open I still have a newfound connection to unbelievable power."

"But can you use it properly? We'll see about that," Van Kliess said. He shot out his arm trying to grab her, but she used a new sonic attack to pierce his ear. Seven of Nine, adjusted her implant to avoid hearing the sound as she attacked. She twisted in midair trying to catch the girl off guard, but bent out of the way. While doing a handstand she unleashed another attack. The ground erupted in a mess of tangled vines that tried to eat her.

Ignoring the blood trickling out of his ears Van Kliess pierced the ground taking control of the plant. He ordered it to turn on its mistress. She formed a pink water bubble capturing the plant. Two balls, one of fire and the other sunlight, formed in her hands as butterflies started peeling off her body. She unleashed her attacks laughing with glee as her newfound abilities unfolded in front of her.

Seven of Nine punctured and swatted the butterflies into smithereens as her husband side-stepped the fire and light balls. Both had a sheen of sweat covering their bodies and their breathing was labored. They were tired, but refused to give up.

Edan B was wearing his Ultimate Warrior armor. He was covered head to toe in lightweight flexible, but extremely durable armor. There were little spikes up the arms ending at the neck brace. His helmet was gladiator style. Using his newfound power he was able to call forth a great magnitude of weapons from a variety of worlds.

"I hope you all have a painful and bloody death!" he shouted. He waved a giant fan sending a storm of Japanese style weapons at Captain Callan. He along with a small group of Providence soldiers had managed to salvage a single battle tank for the fight. The magic infused weapons phased through the tank's outer layer straight inside. Callan was horrified as two of his eight man squadron found themselves lying in a pool of their own blood, punctured by weapons.

"Get those two to a medic. Return fire!" he ordered. His squad mate nodded as he powered up the cannon. He lined up a shot at Edan B who was just standing there. "Fire!"

The missiles launched from the cannons locking on to their target that still didn't move. The warheads beeped indicating they were about to explode. Raising his right arm high in the air a giant scythe materialized. Whirling it around his body the blade lit up until it was a dark plum color. "Deadly Glaive!" he shouted. He brought the deadly weapon down right on the nose of the missiles. The second they touched they blew up, but the destructive payload was sent out in five directions nearly killing those on the ritual disruption mission.

Captain Callan was forced to abandon his tank with his remaining men as Edan B leaped on top piercing it. With a deadly twist his tank exploded once again sending out its destructive energy somewhere else. "Do you understand now? Any weapon you use against me, I can match in power and send the destruction towards your friends. They will never destroy the five points!"

"Well, my experience is that hard work and a strong will can overcome any magic problem. Fight on men!"

Faline B had created a small tether of magic so she could have more space to summon. Dark spirits were harder to control then her normal summons, but she couldn't move from her spot. She watched with evil glee as the trio of woman did their best to combat the foes.

Aoife golden eyes widen as her own powers were failing her. Her golden precognitive eyes weren't helping her as she tried to chain up a dark spirit. Her water pulse didn't drive it back. Neither of her friends were making much progress either. She couldn't believe how much trouble she was having against a mage when she was a master witch!

Oriana's platinum hair was out its braid as her white robes had become tarnished by the amount of wind she summoned. Her sensing abilities were useless in this situation. She reached out to touch the dark spirit to use her psychomentry abilities, but it burned her instead. Moya slid in front of the dark spirit head-butting it with her shining looped magenta hair. As the spirit tried to sneeze the hair away the pink colored witch hurled a potion on it. The spirit screamed as it turned to gold light and vanished. "One down, dozens to go."

"So your potion mistress with light based powers? Interesting combo, but nothing for me to fear. I'll just summon more spirits to attack!" Faline B laughed. The keys had almost fully formed. A door sprang open in the cylinder staircase as something streaked out. A mowhawk black being with red and green gems appeared. "Ah, a true dark spirit. Ninety Six I believe? Fight her!"

The evil number had no problems obeying orders that led to destruction and chaos. As he tried to smother Moya, she tried to use her gift of animation to revert him to something inanimate, but couldn't touch him. This was not going to be an easy fight.

* * *

While this had been going on Generator, Circe, and Eilonwy had managed to slip past unnoticed for the most part. The three of them had worked in synch to avoid the deadly traps and defend themselves as they reached Mage/Luna. If they could free her from the mirror maybe they could stop the formation of the gateways.

"My magic isn't working! I can't cut these chains," Circe wailed softly. She twisted her child carrier bringing her daughter closer. "Sweetie, I want you to use your sparks on this. Maybe they can help."

"Sparks Mommy!" Eilonwy giggled showering them with stars with no effect. Not even Generator's builds could budge them. He was getting frustrated. "How do we win this fight if I can't even use my power suit to get these off you?"

"Calm down and take a deep breath okay? The world may be falling into chaos, but if we don't keep our heads everything could be lost!" The High Priestess in training was doing her best to ignore the sounds of battle as she took stock of the entire situation. Through her training she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to break the mirror or remove it from the semi-circle of gems. Mage's life force was tied to those stones and forcefully removing them could kill her.

Biting her lip she contemplated using her gift of persuasion to force Faline B to let her go, but dismissed that. She doubted she could overcome any of the Hellish Beasts will power or hypnotize anyone either. Her training in that art wasn't as developed. Eilonwy's magic was too raw to synch up with and she didn't have any EVO powers of as yet. If she was working with her husband then maybe they could use the symbiosis to handle the full power of the nanite network to reach inside the guild and seize control for a few minutes. Manipulate them in such a way they could break their concentration long enough to borrow their power to free Mage/Luna. Maybe even transfer the knowledge on how to undo this mess.

Generator's cowl picked up the rise in heat and heartbeat in Circe. As he opened his mouth to reply the tattoo over his heart started to tingle. Instinctively he slid in front of the little family forming his Block Party using his nanites to link his power suit force field with them to create a bigger protective sphere. Two green eyed and multiple arm dark spirits were attacking him.

"Get away from that mirror boy! I won't have you interfering with our moment of exultant!" Faline B shouted, her green eyes narrowing. "You can't fool me as well as you can the others. You've been in a great deal of pain every time you've used your builds since that explosion in Abysus. Even now you're trying to keep the pain hidden."

Circe looked at Generator noticing for the first time how much his body was trembling and the way he was struggling to stand. Droplets of blood were falling from where his hands were. In her carrier, Eilonwy whimpered at the sound of the teen as his builds started to come apart only to reform. It was horrific.

"He's been using the secondary spirit inside of him to keep up appearance," Mage whispered, startling Circe, who actually jumped. "My aura reading abilities detected it when he tried to free me earlier. He's pushing himself so hard that his grandfather's spirit is reaching its limits."

"Generator, Rex you need to stop! You're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up!" Circe begged. She reached out with a single hand, the words to a healing spell on the tip of her tongue.

"Save your strength Circe! You need your powers at full strength if you're going to defeat thrse mages. I can handle a little pain, ugh, I'm One remember? Ugh," Generator felt his knees buckling his build vanishing giving the dark spirits access to them.

Circe cradled her daughter to her chest letting loose a full blast from her mouth. Her sonic scream ripped apart a layer of black skin revealing a fiery layer underneath. Not pleased the dark spirits lashed out with their tentacles trying to grab her. Circe thrust her right hand out shouting, "_Stellar starry dazzle!" _A stream of large silver stars obliterated the dark spirit tentacle.

As the first dark spirit back pedaled the second one changed its shape becoming a towering kraken like beast. It open its maw wide displaying a buildup of explosive quintessence. With a peal it unleashed its deadly payload upon the duo blatantly ignoring Faline B's command to stop.

Generator couldn't move and Circe was frozen in terror. Mage struggled to break free to save her friend, but couldn't. The only who reacted was little Eilonwy. "You won't hurt Mommy!" The toddler's eyes flashed blue white as she clapped her hands together hard. In response the nanites from the Nexus appeared in front of her. Clapping her hands again they joined together forming a radio dish. The quintessence was absorbed by the dish then fired right back destroying the spirit shocking everyone. "Yeah! I save Mommy!"

"How in the world did you do that?" Circe looked at her child in awe.

"Looks like she takes after her real father as well. She's used her link with the Nanite Nexus to ask them to aid her, just as he used his link to save everyone," Generator whispered. She's a pretty amazing kid. "I wonder, can you feel your daddy? Not me, your real one?"

Eilonwy nodded waving her hand at the mirror. The reflection showed the Rex Van Kliess still chained to his mirror and the battle going on there. Generator spotted the device still activate with his counterparts hand on the port. He had an idea as he plucked the little girl from her carrier and crawled over to Mage.

"Can you control any of the power flowing through you right now? Even a small amount would be helpful." The goddess incarnate nodded her head. As the manna continued to flow through her she reached out taking control of a small bit passing through her heart. "Good, keep a tight grip on it and direct it inside my counterpart. Make sure he knows you're sending to him."

"What are you doing exactly?" Circe questioned over her shoulder. She was still dealing with more dark spirits screaming her heart out. She couldn't turn around to see what they were doing and it was unnerving her.

"Saving the multiverse. Eilonwy, I need you to switch things around again," Generator said encouragingly. The little girl looked at him puzzled. She couldn't switch the two of them, she was two small. "Not us, our powers. Take Mage's hand and mine. Use your sparks to switch them around just for a bit. Your daddy needs my powers to win his fight and I need his to win this one."

Eilonwy nodded using her chubby hands to hold on to both of them. Mage/Luna formed a link with the little girl. In her mind she called out to Rex Van Kliess using the mirror to transmit her thoughts. He heard and signaled he was ready. A beautiful white glow emanated from little Eilonwy. Generator's tattoo tingled as he watched a small gold ball pass through his arm into Eilonwy then into Mage/Luna. At the same time a small silver ball passed through in the opposite direction. The second the two powers switched a surge of power was felt throughout the battlefield sending everyone flying. Chains broke as the two Rex's formed their signature smile. In unison they said, "I'm Rex, thrill me!"

* * *

The Ethereal Animals were unsure of how to react at first. The boy was no longer attached to the mirror though that hadn't stopped the flow of magic, just slowed it down considerably. All around him his allies were picking themselves off the ground wondering what would happen next.

Rex acted first forming his Sky Slider he flew into the air going after the guild members. Twisting his feet around he used his build to push Edan over Six's back causing him to get stuck in the earth. He formed his Slam Cannon scooping the fallen mage up and firing him in the direction of one of the points.

In midair Odette caught him using her swan wings to fly back towards the action. She dropped her beloved a few feet from the boy. With a furious honk she dive bombed the boy intent on making him pay. As she came in fast Rex's raced over, pushing off from the ground, then flipped over the woman landing on one hand. As she tried to turn around he brought his feet around hooking them around her legs bringing her down.

Edan charged him at the same time Odette used her wings in an attempt to smash his arms. His eyes lit up as he once again listened to the voice whispering in his mind. He bent and pivoted on his feet crisscrossing his arms so they landed on his foes. Blue white lines snaked through their body as he communicated with their nanites. As he made contact the clones started to fizzle out.

Seeing their guild mates in trouble Brede and Faline launched simultaneous attacks. Brede called forth the magic to send out multiple attacks from his eyes as Faline pounced on top of the boy intent on removing his head from his body. As the rest of the Gears moved into to help they were shocked when the teen hero managed to toss them all off him.

The teen was struggling to stay on his feet as Van Kliess and Six rushed over to help steady him. Caesar and Holiday, who had pulled themselves out the mud, joined them both firing their weapons at the mages who used the magic in the air to protect themselves. Holiday leaned over to check the boy for injuries. She was puzzled why he was attacking with her son's powers now instead of his, but decided it could wait until later. "I saw you were talking with their nanites. What were you attempting to tell them?" she asked hurriedly.

"I was trying to use my newfound willpower to take control of their nanites. Magic users draw extra power from the nanites internal energy. If I could touch them long enough I could order the nanites to stop the absorption of the manna in the air. That would weaken them long enough to give the Backups and Pack members' time to take out the points. Stop the flow of power to the ritual site and magic will stop coming in from the other world. Maybe I can even use the disruptor to help fix the Veil."

"Leave the disruptor to the hack and I, you concentrate on talking with those nanites. Come on Van Kliess, get your butt in gear!" Caesar ordered. Van Kliess rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers. Breach, who had been trying to use her portals to deal with the magic, heard him and portaled the two scientists over to the gun.

"We'll help you finish this fight. Gears, attack pattern zeta!" Six called out as he formed an x with his blades. A magnetic pulse generated from them causing the magic in the air to wither a bit.

"NO! Stop him before the magic is completely corrupted!" Edan ordered. The Ethereal Animals called forth more power only to be caught off guard as App, Chaos, Wingman, and Spyder shot their grappling lines pulling them in opposite's directions. The four superheroes twisted the lines around taking control of the mages as if they were puppets. The mages used their magic to attack the Gears only to have them turn them around so their own attacks hit their fellow mages!

Siren took advantage of this using alternating frequencies to keep them subdued. She kept calling out hoping to hit the right frequency until she managed to find the one that she was looking for. Beneath her cowl she smiled as the Regulus Rings shattered into tiny pieces. Seconds later the elemental flow stopped. The Backups had succeeded! That was all Generator needed as he placed his hands on the four mages. They were groaning in pain as their magical cores shut down. They passed out and with them down for the count the flow of magic came to a halt.

* * *

While this was all happening Generator had teamed up with newly freed Mage to put an end to the Hellish Beasts. Finally connected to the symbiosis of this world, he felt his nanites healing as well as his body. No longer was he in constant pain. Using his newfound spark he command the earth to rip apart the ice formation holding the gateways in place. With the ice torn off the cylinder started to wobble and sway.

Snarling in anger the Hellish Beasts turned all their attention on the teen. No punk was going to keep them from their destiny. Edan B and Odette B hurled their attacks at the boy who formed his Smack Hands. Catching the offending weapons he crushed several of them. Mage handled the words using her lunar based powers to obliterate them. Turning her attention to Faline B she called out to the moon to eclipse her powers cutting her off from calling more summons. Brede B started to form ice shapes only for Generator to smack him with the Funchucks.

"Just because you have a spark now doesn't mean you'll beat us! We've been plotting our victory for years! What makes you think a punk like you can defeat us?" Edan B challenged the boy.

"Because I have people I care about a lot!" he replied as he started to radiate energy. He was drawing on the symbiosis powering up from everyone's nanite networks. Their strength was increasing his power as he clasped his hands with Mage. The two of them levitated in the air in a brilliant sphere of light. Sensing what was about to happen the Hellish Beast performed a unison raid firing a beam of black energy at them.

The sky lit up as white and black energies collided. It was a battle of wills as the duo challenged the quartet. Everyone watched in awe wondering what would happen. With a final push the white light overpowered the black striking the mages. They screamed as the magical/nanite attack sealed their powers and cut off their connection to magic forever. With that done the gateways vanished and the mirror powered down. Quickly the allied forces moved in to contain the Hellish Beasts. They had won.


	8. Restored Frame

The battle was won, but there was still a lot of cleanup to do. Looking up at the sky the manna was still swirling around uncontrollably now that no one was directing it. A quick web check showed that the world was still under its influence changing the world. Reports were coming in that people were still in states of shock world over and could die any minute if they didn't find some way to deal with the manna in the air.

_"Esto es malo, muy malo. ¿Cómo se puede solucionar este embrollo? Las ideas sobre la manera de devolver las cosas a su estado normal?" _Caesar asked the group. He stood up from where he had been working on the disruptor gun with Van Kliess. It was a challenge trying to repurpose the device without the proper equipment. It wasn't helping that stray magic spirals kept coming down from the sky at them. The group shielded themselves from the spirals. This was getting to dangerous.

"This is getting serious. If we don't resolve the situation soon, the world may never recover," Wingman said. Another flash and spiral attack forced him to jump backwards. "Is there any way we can send the magic back through the mirror?"

Rex shook his head. "The manna that's already here has already acclimated to this world when it passed through my body. Without my spark we can't acclimated it to its original time/space. Besides, some of it's already been absorbed into the mantle of the earth. There's no way to suck it out without causing more cataclysm harm."

"Then we'll go with your original idea of capturing the remaining manna and redistributing to fix the Veil between our worlds. The question is how to do we retrieve it all? Can the disruptor gun summon it all back here?" Chaos asked the two scientists.

Caesar gave her a look that read are you joking? "We're not even sure if the disruptor gun can handled that much energy without blowing up. We've recalibrated it for multiphasic wide-spread dispersal so it can fix the Veil, but the odds of this working…"

"Honestly Caesar, you live too much in your own mind. Time for a bit of out of the box thinking. Breach?" Van Kliess said looking at his Pack member. She turned to her master wondering what he wanted. "Be a dear and open up as many portals as you can on a global scale."

"Hold on a minute, Breach's powers work by allowing physical matter to travel between points. If she tries opening portals I'm not sure what would happen if the manna, which is pure _energy,_ was sucked in. The reaction inside could compromise her ability to open portals for good," Holiday warned them. She had been tending to the prisoners and had a skeptical look on her face. "Do you understand the risks your taking?"

"Breach wants to help friends. Let me help please."

"You know sis, there are ways to help keep her safe. If we could fashion a filter of some kind it could reduce the unpredictable effects of manna as it travels through the portals," Spyder said. She touched the disruptor gun interfacing with it. Bringing up a 3D display on her holographic wrist computer she started tapping keys and rearranging pieces.

"Can you work any faster? The world isn't going to survive for much longer," Chaos said. In response the world trembled and there were mini explosions heard in the distance. She tapped her communicator, "Hey, are guys okay? Touch base!"

"Whoa beautiful, if I didn't know any better, I say you were worried about me. It's nice to know that you care about me," Skywwd joked, his image appearing in her screen. He started to blow his girlfriend a kiss when he found himself drenched with an unexpected wave from the lake. "Okay, I'm starting to panic. I thought that we stopped the ritual. Why isn't the world going back to normal?"

"Magic rituals are not as simple as flipping a light switch off and on best friend. Is there anything we can do to help?" Tuck asked, as his image also appeared in Chaos's cowl.

"Hmm you're armor could be used to help filter the extra manna through the portals. I need you three to meet up at these coordinates and then use your tattoos to weave your nanites into this configuration. Hopefully that they'll able to handle the directing and controlling the manna," Spyder replied interrupting the conversation.

"It might also help if Breach holds on to the port. Using her energies power up the device should allow the device to handle the flow of power. Hmm, if we aim it at the mirror using the right frequency it can amplifying the effects helping bond the manna and Veil fabric without complication. I'll just need to adjust the power flow. Rex, can you angle the mirror a few degrees please? Yes that's helpful," Van Kliess said tapping a few keys. Switching out the barrel and then tweaking a few wires he handed the port over to Breach. "We're ready to begin."

"I think you may have overlooked a simple fact," Six stated as he removed his sunglasses. "How do we summon the energy through the portals? It's all over the skies, the buildings, inside people. Even if she scoops them up and we attempt to filter the flow that still no guarantee we'll capture all the loose manna."

"Leave that part to me. You read girlfriend?" Siren asked, her mouth already unfold as she stood back to back with her best girlfriend.

"Let's do it best friend. Portals, portals, and more portals open! I'm going global!" Breach laughed. Siren giggled as she started calling on the same frequency before when she shattered the Regulus Rings, but this time her volume level was down and the pitch slightly softer.

All around the world the portal carried the song. The manna not already entrenched felt it connecting with them. Slowly at first the manna started to follow an invisible current towards the portals. It came out of the sky, buildings, and people as it traveled through the portals.

Breach let out a yelp and her body started to spasm. Holding that much energy in her portals was having an adverse effect on her. She didn't have a magical core and it was disrupting the normal effects of the portals. App took out some pain meds while Chaos and Wingman steadied her.

"We need to get all that manna out of her portals and through the disruptor ASAP!"

"Already working on that. Breach connect the portals at the midway mark. Backups start sending out your nanite weaves now. Reconfigure formation to structure 6-S. Good now place it at juncture C-4. Okay that's working now you need to direct the weave into structure 9-W at juncture R-7," Spyder commanded. Using her holographic map and genius she was able to help the Backups create different filters to capture excess manna and control the flow rate so it didn't damage the internal structure.

"Here it comes. Van Kliess, Caesar, activate the device. I'm going to control the angle of the mirror!" Rex said. In perfect synch the three of them took the manna, then using Breach's abilities changed its quantum signature and microscopic structure so that when the beam struck mirror it became Veil fabric. The rest of the group watched in awe as the Veil mended right before their eyes getting stronger before vanishing.

Holiday ran a scanner over the air as her husband connect with Hope satellite. It had worked. All the extra manna was gone as what remained became stable. Slowly the world was recovering. It would be okay!

* * *

In the other world, Rex was sitting on the ground recovering his strength from the fight. Using magic to win the fight, even with Mage's help, had drained him immensely. Even with the symbiosis his nanites were slow to respond as they continued to adjust to the new input they were receiving. They were not used to hearing so many other "voices" especially not ones that were in a sense alive.

"That was a rush, I never felt that powerful except for the time I held all five Meta Nanites. The power was almost overwhelming. Is that how you feel all the time?" Rex asked, as he pressed a wet cloth to his forehead. He felt so dizzy and weak.

"Accessing the full power of the Nanite Nexus through powering up can be physically demanding on the body. It's why my husband only does it as a last resort. Still, it's astonishing how you were able to handle it well enough to merge powers with Mage. Thanks in part to you, our world is safe," Circe informed him as she took the cloth from his forehead. In her carrier little Eilonwy was also clapping her hands and cheering at a job well done. Circe bent her head down, her long hair tickling her daughter's face, as she gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Yes, you too, did a good job my little icon. Mommy is very proud of you."

"So what happens now? Your world has lost a lot of its manna thanks to the Hellish Beasts. How are you going to repair the damage? What will happen to the mages now that they can't access their magic? Will all the groups effected by their actions be able to recover from what happened?"

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Oriana giving him a half-smile. She had fixed her platinum hair in to her braid. Using her hand she gestured towards her fellow Councilmembers. Aoife has used her enchanted chains to imprison the former mages as Moya used a potion to keep them unconscious. "The Hellish Beast has been one of the hardest dark guilds to eradicate. Now that they are in custody and cut off from their powers; they'll be tried and most likely imprisoned for life by the magical community. Hopefully, with the proof of their actions, Haven and Abysus, will be absolved of any suspicions from the chimera incident. Of course, it will take time for our homes to regain the trust of the world at large, but we can deal with that. I'm sure once Providence gets back on their feet, they can help both countries with repairing the damage."

There was a humming in the air. They all looked up at the sky where Mage was still levitating. Her looks had returned to normal, though at the moment one could tell by the aura surrounding her that Luna was in charge. The Goddess seemed to be assessing the damage to the Earth from the ritual and was working to fix it. Coordinating efforts with her was Seven of Nine. After her androids had arrived carrying different pieces of equipment, she had gotten to work assembling a device. Occasionally her husband or the Holiday twins would offer to help, but she shooed them away, her body language clearly indicating she didn't want or need their help.

Curious about what she was doing, Rex made to get up from the ground when Circe gently pushed him down. Using a hand signal, both Six and Callan came over. Once they had the teen resting between the two of them they helped him hobble over to the action. It was at this time that the allies from the elemental points arrived in transport van. Seeing the teen hero's state Willa let out a gasp before rushing over the boy.

"Are you alright? You look like the Keep ran you over and then dragged you ten whole miles through the sky. We felt someone tapping into the symbiosis drawing extra power, but I wouldn't have suspected it was you. What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Willa, I think the boy can do without you lecturing him. He seems dead on his feet. I'm sure any explanation of what he was doing can wait until the current crises is resolved. Now, will you come over here and help me with Ron? His ankle is swelling and I could use some help checking to see if it's broken," her husband told her. Rex gave him a look of gratitude which he merely returned with a smile. Behind him, Ron was fist bumping with Bobo and Noah on a job well done.

"For that last time, I don't need any help! You think I don't know how to calibrate my own inventions? Honestly I'm not a dumb high school student at a science fair! Doc, Nurse, can you please keep my husband from bothering me?" Anya growled out.

"Now, my dear I'm just attempting to lend you a hand. After all, that's part of the vows we took as I recall. Besides, my expertise are needed to ensure this procedure works correctly," Shaka reminded her. With a sigh of defeat she moved over so that he could work on the device. They had assembled something similar to the dimensional disruptor only it had a radio dish on end and the gun on the other. It was mounted on a tripod that swiveled. It also appeared there was some kind of mixing chamber between the tripod legs. Shaka stuck his gold fingers into some holes on the chamber lid depositing a few nanites which started interacting with a mixture found in the bottom of the chamber. "There, that should do it. We're ready to begin."

"Are you sure your tech will not harm the goddess incarnate in any form?" Aoife voiced, looking at the device with a wary eye. "Not that I doubt your expertise, but still we've seen what happens when tech and magic mix."

Anya gave her a look that clearly expressed how unhappy she was that no one seemed to trust her. "Believe me, I know what I'm doing. According to analysis, via satellite imagining and my own implants, the world is currently experiencing an energy flux that threatens to throw the whole world out of balance because of the violent way the magic was removed. Since we can't recover what was loss, I'm hoping the device here can assist us by increasing the exchange rate between natural energy with the Nexus. By having Mage/Luna transmit their power with our nanites and added by our mixture disperse itself worldwide healing the energy field. Trust me I know what I'm doing."

Flipping a switch on the device they all watched as radio dish collected connected with the Nanite Nexus opening up a link. The mix of nanites and magic infusion shot out of the other end striking Mage/Luna in the small of her back. She arched up and giggled as it tickled her. Casting her spell the new energy traveled through the Nexus all over the world healing it at an accelerated rate. Within twenty minutes it was all back to normal.

With that done, Mage levitated over the Oberon's Mirror. Chanting an ancient spell she stroked the frame. The glass rippled before revealing a swirl of rainbow colors. Voices could be heard exclaiming on the other end as Titania's Mirror did the same thing. A path between the two timelines/worlds had been created. The Rexs could go home now.

* * *

"I've created a passage back home, but I'm not sure how long I can keep it open at my current levels. You should leave while you can," she told him. She held up a hand to keep him from interrupting her. "Your powers should switch back during the crossing as long as you touch each others hand as you pass by one another. Once you two have returned to your proper worlds the mirror should snap back to its origins, thus ensuring that there will be no more mix ups ever again."

Rex nodded, tears were watering in his eyes, he was so happy that he would be finally going home he didn't know how to express his gratitude. A warm look from the goddess incarnate was enough of an indicator of what he should be doing. Wiping the tears from his eyes he turned towards Circe and Eilonwy, embracing them tightly.

"Thank you for helping. I would have lost hope of returning home so many times if it wasn't for the two of you. Take care of yourselves okay?" he whispered into their ears.

"You do the same as well. I hope that one day you and your Circe can have the same joy, my Rex and I have with our little one," she replied in the same hush tone. Beneath her she could sense her daughter tickling the boy as her way to say goodbye.

After breaking off his embrace he turned to the Van Kliess's not sure what to say. He twiddled with his fingers for a few seconds before Ron spoke up, "Come on man, just speak from the heart already. You don't have forever, remember dude?" His parents gave him exasperated looks, but at the same time they couldn't be mad at him.

"You don't have to say anything dear. We know how you feel," Willa assured him. Her husband agreed adding that they were very proud of his accomplishments and hoped that their Rex had learned how to trust in the kindness of strangers as he had. Shaking their hands Rex told them he appreciated the love they had shared with him, as it helped remind him of his days with his bio family.

His goodbyes to Six and Holiday came out jumbled. He couldn't express his thanks in words, but his expression was enough to convey how he much their presences had comforted him in this strange world. The two of them patted him on the back telling him that in the future, when they had children of their own, that they hoped they would be just like him. That made him tear up again.

His goodbyes to the magic users, along with Van Kliess and his wife, were of a similar nature. He was thankful for all their help. They in turn told him how pleasurable it was to meet him and wished him a safe journey. After his final goodbye he stood in front of the mirror taking a few deep breaths, a bit hesitant to enter the mirror.

* * *

On the opposite side of the mirror Rex Van Kliess was also finishing up his goodbyes. It had been harder than he expected to say goodbye to these people, now that he had formed a bond with them. He had been tentative around Van Kliess, who had been surrounded by his Pack, but finally was able to shake the man's hand telling him how much he appreciated his help. The King of EVOs gave him a real smile, telling him he was only too happy to help and hoped he had a safe journey home.

He had next turned his attention to the Gears. He went to each one individually expressing his thanks and telling them how much he cared for them. Also, he mentioned characteristics each person had shown him that he promised to practice upon returning home. The Gears also shared with him the good times they had saying he was now an honorary member.

The last people he said farewell to was the Hayashi's and Caesar. He had a group hug with them thanking them for everything. He informed them that without their love and support, he wouldn't have managed to hold on as long as he had. They were the best family a person could ask for and he hoped his counterpart knew how lucky he was. They also told him how much they cared about him, saying that their Rex could learn to lighten up a bit more, like he was.

Finally he stood in front of the mirror gazing at the swirling vortex. Gathering his courage he waved goodbye, then stepped through the mirror at the same time his counterpart did.

* * *

The experience of traveling through the vortex was different this time. Instead of the quick exchange between worlds, this was slow and steady. The boys were walking down the pathway admiring the swirling colors of the vortex. The air was very clean as gentle breeze came out of nowhere tickling their skin. At the midway point the two of them finally met face to face for the first time.

It was an awkward meeting as neither one knew what to say to the other. They were both sneaking glances at one another before looking away. Rex VK started to whistle nervously and Rex SH bit his lip. In unison they both started to speak, "I just wanted to say. Hey I'm talking! Stop that!" They both laughed, the tension between them broken.

"So white hair huh? I guess it's not that bad of a look, but I have to say after wearing your clothes I prefer my style," Rex SH joked, as he indicated his power suit. "Not only is it fashionable, it's functional." He twirled around like a model showcasing his outfit.

"Sure your outfit is nice, but I have to say I'm glad that I don't have to go to school, it's the hardest thing in the world! How do you stand having to deal with punks like McKelly and the homework load? I rather babysit my daughter when she's sick then go back there," Rex VK told him bluntly earning a laugh from his counterpart. "All joking aside, your life isn't that bad. I envy you for having an almost normal life. All my life has been responsibility, fighting, and a lot of chaos. I wouldn't change it for anything, but still once and in a while, it would be nice to just be a kid," he admitted softly, looking down at his feet.

Rex SH knew how lucky he was to have a normal life. After seeing the world his counterpart lived in he realized his life as a teen superhero was nothing compared to his life. Still, there was something of the counterpart's life that he envied. "You know, you're luckier then you know. You have more family then I do. Sure it was weird having Van Kliess as an uncle and aunt whose resembles a Borg, but they're pretty cool people. Your parents and brother were very welcoming and kind to me. Also, having Circe as your wife and a cute daughter like Eilonwy? I can only hope for something like that one day. I love my adoptive parents and my brother, but sometimes I wish my bio parents were still around. I wonder what my life would be like if I still lived with them."

It surprised the two of them that each of them wanted something the other hand, but when you thought about it, it wasn't that strange. A road not traveled was always something people wondered about. Thanks in part to this switch, they had gotten a glimpse of what could have been filling a hole in their lives they weren't aware of. They were thankful for that, but there was something that needed to be taken care of before they returned home.

Both of them cupped their right hands, a small glowing sphere appeared in it. It was the source of their powers ready to be returned to their rightful Rex. "Thanks for lending me your power. Your willpower and fighting skills are incredible. It took me a long time to master having multiple builds, but your powers made it so easy to create my builds."

"Your spark of manna is extraordinary. You think its small compared to Circe's? Well, it was a rush to use and that symbiosis was the ultimate power up."

The two boys transferred the globes into the other's hand. Once in the palm of the rightful owner, the globe sank into their skin. A warmth spread throughout their bodies making them feel really good. With a final brotherly hug, the two of them continued down the pathway. There was a hiss as they exited the mirrors back in their own worlds followed by a snap as Oberon's mirror returned to its proper place. At once both boys were engulfed in the loving arms of their family and friends.

* * *

Rex Salazar Hayashi would never forget the sight of his father shedding tears as his mother cradled him close to her chest. Nor would he forget how his brother kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair happy he was home. After breaking free from them he found himself under attack by his friends. All of them were talking at once and asking him a dozen of questions. He was overwhelmed by their response as he managed to break free from them.

"Everyone would you chill for a second, I think I'm going too faint from all this love. I'm glad to see you guys as well. You wouldn't believe what I've been through these last two weeks but I promise I'll tell you soon. There's something that needs to be taken care of first," he assured them.

"I assume you mean me and my little Pack Rex?" Van Kliess said. He and his Pack were just standing off to the side. None of them looked like they were going to attack though the air of hostility still surrounded them. A closer look at the man revealed a light sheen of sweat and that his body was most likely under a great deal of strain. Rex's sharp eyes noticed the man was attempting to absorb the tiny bits of manna still clinging to the air.

"Your body isn't able to cope much longer in the real world Van Kliess. My counterpart may have been able to allow you temporary access to the real world again, but he couldn't completely undo my procedure because he didn't have the Meta Nanites. You should return to Abysus quickly if you want to stay alive," the Hispanic teen remarked.

"What if we don't want to go back? We risked much helping your family and friends, but what is our reward? To be banished once again to a pocket dimension? Maybe we should just take you out," Biowulf growled. Next to him Skalamander got his crystal arm ready to fire. Breach looked unsure of who to aid as she had her four arms at her side.

"Biowulf, stand down. You two Skalamander. This situation requires a delicate touch. I need a few minutes alone with the boy. Breach, prepare to return us home once I'm done. Rex, a moment of you time please?" A curt nod from the boy and they walked slightly away from the group so they wouldn't be heard. Once along Van Kliess began to speak. "I must admit, you and your counterpart certainly surprised me during this quaint little adventure. Never would I have dreamed that I would willingly help my enemies out without asking anything for myself."

"I know what you mean. Your counterpart was very surprising himself. It was strange dealing with him and finding out he was part of that Rex's family. He seemed to genuinely care about not only EVOs, but his family, possibly the world at large. I owe him much, but I can't repay him. I was hoping you would accept something on his behalf."

Van Kliess arched a singly eyebrow in surprise. He was a bit stunned the boy would suggest something like that. Not one to turn down a free gift, he waited to see what the boy would do. He stood still as Rex touched his chest, communicating something with his nanites. He sensed something change inside him and suddenly his body wasn't in so much pain. He gave the boy a quizzical look wondering what he did.

Rex didn't say anything, his eyes conveying his thoughts. He had allowed the man the ability to return to Earth for a short amount of time in the future. Not long enough to cause problems, but at least some time to enjoy the sun and see the stars. The two shook hands as friends. With a silent thanks the King of EVOs joined his Pack as they stepped through a portal back home to Abysus. With that taken care of and Hope agents showing up to take the Ethereal Animals to jail, the group decided to go get tacos to celebrate Rex's return.

* * *

Across the space/time a similar reunion was taking place. Upon returning home Rex Van Kliess embraced his wife and daughter. He held them tight kissing them, stroking their chins and whispering how much he loved the two of team. The little family was crying tears of joy with being reunited.

"I thought you would never come back. It was worse than when I thought you died," Circe cried into his shoulder. Rex wrapped an arm around her patting on the back. In the crook of his other arm he held his daughter as she tickled his face before wrapping her chubby arms around his neck. "Promise me you'll never leave us again."

"I can't promise that Circe, but I promise to do by my best to always come back to you and Eilonwy," he whispered in her ear. Breaking apart he shared a touching reunion with his parents and his little brother. He let his mom fuss over him and cracked a few jokes with his dad. His little brother kept begging him to talk about Caesar, was he anything like Ron? What was it like having an older brother? Finally Rex told him he was tired and would answer his questions later. Right now all he wanted was a hot meal along with a warm bath before sleeping for the next twelve hours.

Everyone laughed at that, but agreed it was for the best. The members of Haven agreed to come see them once they had secured the Hellish Beasts and did an assessment of the damage to the magical community. Van Kliess, Seven of Nine/Anya, and Ulani had to get back to Abysus before anyone realized they were missing. Captain Callan and his men volunteered to stay behind to clean up the site, so everyone else headed back to Providence for a well-deserved rest.

* * *

It was a week later and Rex Van Kliess was sitting on the roof of Providence, watching the sun rise with his wife and daughter. It was a magnificent sight watching the tinge of pink with the warmth of the slowly rising yellow sun chase away the blackness of night. The hope of a brand new day of wonder and excitement filled their bodies keeping them warm in the chilly morning air. Leaning against one another the two lovers intertwined their hands. Even little Eilonwy was unusually quiet, just enjoying the moment.

Rex looked at all he was blessed with and then spoke up very softly. "I never understood how lucky I was until I went to that other world. You and Eilonwy, my family and friends, even working for Providence, are all part of what I cherish about my life. After seeing how my counterpart lived I'm even more grateful for what I have. I'm never going to take anything for granted again."

"I'm glad, your counterpart also taught me the value of living each day to the fullest and to never give up hope. Anything is possible if you have the will to carry it out." With a giggle from the daughter the family returned to watching the sunrise glad to be back to their normal lives.

A similar event was happening with Rex Salazar-Hayashi. Instead of watching the sunrise, he was having a breakfast feast with all his friends and family in Hope's massive cafeteria. Everyone was enjoying the explosion of different breakfast foods; including blueberry pancakes, hash brown patties, and several Mexican pastries. Orange, grape, and berry juice flowed freely as people laughed and talked nonstop with one another.

Rex took it all in, thinking about how lucky he was. Sure, his counterpart had a great life and wonderful people, but he didn't have the freedom and fun he had. The simple joy of being a teen was something he never thought much about before, after all it was the life he had chosen. Now he truly understood the sacrifices his parents had made to ensure he had that.

"Mijo, what are you thinking about?"

"Just how lucky I am. My counterpart helped me appreciate what I have a lot more than before. I'm glad that we switched places, but it's good to be home." With those words of wisdom he rejoined the breakfast explosion stacking more pancakes on his plate and kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. Life was good.


End file.
